


The Angel Within Hogwarts

by SineadNovak394



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Lucifer (TV), Supernatural
Genre: Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe, Castiel trying his best, Cursed Castiel (Supernatural), Dean Winchester Being an Idiot, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Hogwarts AU, M/M, Magic, Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Past Abuse, Past Violence, Protective Dean Winchester, Remus Lupin Lives, Romantic Soulmates, School, Shy Castiel (Supernatural), Soulmates, Winged Castiel (Supernatural), Wingfic, breaking curses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:55:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 47,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25960918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SineadNovak394/pseuds/SineadNovak394
Summary: Dean Winchester is an orphaned half-blood, excited to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.Castiel Novak is a cursed pure-blood, dreading going to the school of magic. He's scared that his personal secrets will get revealed and his life will be ruined forever.The shy persona that Castiel puts on, won't stop Dean from trying to be his friend and trying to show him how to live a little.From trying to figure out how to be “mates”, to solving mysteries about their past, this is a recount of all seven years at Hogwarts for Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak.Supernatural - Hogwarts AUI do not own any Supernatural, Lucifer or Harry Potter characters that will be in this book. Nor do I own the main settings. Only the plot is mine.Originally posted on Wattpad. This is my story.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar, Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Lisa Braeden/Dean Winchester, Meg Masters/Mazikeen Smith, Michael/Adam Milligan, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 54





	1. Cast (not story)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! Thanks for taking a chance on my book. This is my first story on AO3 so let’s hope I do everything correctly!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we start the book, this chapter will consist over the “cast”, the cast is for the main students to give an idea of what the canonical characters would look like if they were younger. This is only to give an idea, the facial features as well as other features of these “cast members” will not effect the story. I will be use the features from the canonical cast.

Decided to make up a cast for this book. I tried to keep the cast members close in looks to the canonical characters' appearances, so it work seem like the kids featured would grow into the canonical characters. 

The adults in this have the same portrayer as the ones in the show 

————

Dean Winchester - Cameron Brodeur 

Castiel Novak - Aidan Gallagher

Charlie Bradbury - Sophia Lillis (obviously younger in the earlier years at Hogwarts) 

Meg Masters - TJ McGibbon

Sam Winchester- Pierce Gagnon

Gabriel Novak - Young Richard Speight Jr. because no one can play Gabe the way Speight does and I also couldn’t find anyone who would fit. (Couldn’t find a picture either- sorry) 

  
Mazikeen Smith - Mackenzie Ziegler

Lisa Braedon - Johnny Sequoyah

These face claims are only to set a base look for how the characters make look as their younger selves. 


	2. Cast (not story)

"Be safe," a small voice whispered in Dean Winchester's ear. Dean pulled away from the hug and looked down at his little brother Sam. 

"I will, Sammy, I promise. And I'll do my best to write whenever I can." 

See, Dean was a wizard and this year, he would be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

"Come on, we don't want to miss the train," Dean and Sam's adopted parent, Bobby Singer grumbled. Bobby was a teacher at Hogwarts and had adopted the boys when their father died. 

The brothers' father was John Winchester. John had died when Dean was eight and Sam was six and that day was four years after Mary Winchester's death. Four years to the day. John was a muggle, someone who was not born magical. Mary, on the other hand, was a pure-blooded witch. She went to Hogwarts just like Dean would be. 

Dean and Bobby said their final goodbyes to Sam (who would be staying with Bobby's wife, Ellen, who had lost her daughter Jo a few years back) before hopping onto the Hogwarts Express, the train that would transport both the students and the teachers to Hogwarts. 

Once on the train, Bobby quickly separated from Dean and made his way over to the teachers' section of the train. 

Dean walked through the train halls, trying to find an empty compartment to sit in. He traveled with three suit cases and a brown owl whom Dean had gotten for his eleventh birthday that Dean called 'Dr. Whoo' per Sam's request, so Dean could have a reminder of Sam when he's gone. 

Though the Winchesters were raised with wizards, they still both enjoyed muggle things. Sam was quite fond of multiple fictional television shows, Dr. Who being one of his favorites, and Dean enjoyed old muggle music that his father used to listen to. 

Dean eventually came to a compartment with a small, black-haired boy inside of it. The boy looked nice enough, so Dean decided he could try sitting there. Dean opened the compartment door and knocked a bit to notify the boy that he was there. 

"Mind if I join you?" Dean asks, brining his stuff inside of the compartment. 

The boy shook his head and Dean couldn't help but take notice of his bright blue eyes. 

Dean put his stuff away, placing Dr. Whoo on the empty seat across from the boy. The Winchester sat down next to his owl before facing the boy again. "I'm Dean Winchester. I'm a first year," he introduced himself.

"Castiel Novak. I am also a first year." The boy's voice was a bit quiet and he seemed shy. 

"Nice to meet you. Mind if I call you Cas? 'Castiel' is sort of a mouthful." Cas shrugged in response. Dean looked at him for a moment, "where did your parents come up with Castiel anyways? Not really a common name." 

Cas rolled his shoulders like his back was uncomfortable or something. "Castiel is the name of an Angel, actually. My parents are slightly religious." 

Dean nods. "What house do you think you'll get into? I think I will be in Gryffindor, where hearts dwell the brave!" He chuckles a bit. "What about you?" 

"I'm not sure. One of my brothers is in Gryffindor and another in Slytherin. So we don't really have a family-theme yet." 

A girl with shoulder-length brown hair steps into the compartment. "You don't mind if I join you two, right? Great." The girl sat down next to Castiel without waiting for an answer. 

Dean gave her a look. 

"Oh, right. Where are my manners? The name's Meg. Meg Masters. I'm a first year," the girl introduces herself. "Now this is the part where you two introduce yourselves," Meg continues when the two boys just stare at her. 

"I am Castiel." 

"Dean Winchester." 

"Half-blood, pure-blood or mud-blood?" Meg asks. "I, myself, am a pure-blood." 

Dean crinkles his nose at her. "I'm a half-blood. Mother was a witch, father was a muggle." 

"I'm a pure-blood," Castiel answers. 

Meg nods. There's silence between the three of them before Meg finally stands up. "Well, you two are pretty boring. I'm gonna go find me some girls and we're gonna have some real fun." Meg leaves without another word.

Dean and Cas are quiet after Meg leaves. Castiel decides to speak up. "You.. you used past tense while describing your parents," Castiel comments. 

The Winchester looks up and over at him. He nods. "Yeah, they both died. My mother died when I was four, Sammy was just two years old then. And then, exactly four years later, my father... he dies too. She was caught up in a house fire and he overused some drugs..." 

Cas frowned. "I'm sorry for your losses. And for bringing it up." 

Dean shakes his head. "No, it's okay, you were curious." 

The pair of them went silent. Castiel looked over at Dean's owl. Dean noticed him looking and brought Dr. Whoo closer to Cas. 

"His name's Dr. Whoo. My brother Sam named him. It-it's a reference to a muggle show he likes to watch," Dean explains. 

Castiel nods. "I don't understand that reference but I see that your brother must mean a lot to you by the way you talk about him." 

This made Dean smile. "Yeah, I pretty much raised him. Our father... he almost was never there for us, so I had to take care of him. We have a good relationship." Dean looks at Dr. Whoo, thinking about his younger brother. 

"And now?" Castiel asks, "after your father died, is it just the two of you?" 

"No, actually. Sam and I got adopted by one of the Hogwarts teacher. Bobby Singer and his wife Ellen. He teaches History of Magic," Dean explains. 

"Really?" Castiel looks interested. 

Dean nods, "yeah." Dean looks over at Cas. "What about you? What's your family like?" 

Castiel pauses for a moment. "Well, I have five other siblings. Two older brothers, two younger brothers and a younger sister. Lucifer is in Slytherin and Michael is in Gryffindor. My father is also in Slytherin. My mother was in Ravenclaw. And then there's my three step-siblings Gabriel, Anna and Balthazar. They're all younger. My mother left shortly after I was born. My step-mother is in Hufflepuff." 

The half-blood listened to Cas intently. "You have a big family," Dean comments. 

Cas nods, "yeah, it's a pretty big, chaotic family. Michael and Lucifer usually fight all the time. Gabriel and Balthazar really don't help when those two fight. My father doesn't care and my step-mother is almost never around. Anna and I usually just stay in the background." 

There's a knock on the compartment door. A red-headed girl pops her head in. "Hey, mind if I join you? The last compartment I was in, I sorta got kicked out." 

"Sure," Dean replies and moves himself and Mr. Whoo so the girl could sit. 

The girl smiled at Dean and sat down next to him. "I'm Charlie, btw. Charlie Bradbury." 

Castiel's head tilted at Charlie. "'Btw'?" He repeats. 

"Oh, it means 'by the way'," Charlie says, "it's muggle slang." 

Cas nods, "oh, okay." 

Charlie laughs a bit. "Sorry 'bout barging in. It seems fourth year girls don't want to hear my stories about muggle online roleplay. I was honestly surprised that I got my letter. But super happy. I mean, I get to live my own story, not just me on my computer all my life." 

Dean and Cas listened to Charlie speak. Dean had a small smile on his face. 

"Y'know," Dean says, "I think you and my brother would really get along." 

"Oh yeah? What's your brother like?" Charlie asks. 

Dean chuckles a bit, "well, he's super geeky. He loves a bunch of muggle shows and is a huge nerd." 

Charlie laughs, "yeah, you're right, I'd probably get along with him." 

There was a knock on the door. The door pulled open to reveal an old lady pushing a candy cart. "Candy from the trolly?" She asks the three of them. 

"Yes," Castiel sits up straight. "Could I please have one cauldron cake and three chocolate frogs?" He gets out a small pouch with coins inside of it. 

"That'll be three sickles, sweetie." The candy lady got out a cauldron cake and three chocolate frogs for Castiel. Cas gave her the money. "And what about you two? What can I get you?" 

"Can I please have an acid pop and a pack of Bertie Bot's Every Flavored Beans?" Dean asked. 

The candy lady nodded and got out Dean's ordered candy. She traded it for his money. 

"And you?" The candy lady turned to Charlie. 

Charlie's face went pink. "Oh, I don't have much Wizard money, so I'll pass. Thanks, though."

Castiel stepped in. "Get whatever you want and I can pay for it," he said seriously. "Really." 

The witch gave Cas a thanking look and asked what's good. 

The witch thought for a moment. "In my opinion, fizzing whizbees are rather great. I suggest that you should try that. And I will be back through if you want something else."

Charlie nodded, "alright. Fizzing whizbees, please." 

The older witch nods. "Of course, child. That'll be four sickles." 

Castiel gave her the four sickles to pay for Charlie's candy choice. Charlie thanked him after the candy witch disappeared. Castiel said that it was nothing. 

The three of them talked and talked while the train went on. They shared Dean's pack of Bertie Bot's Every Flavored Beans. Together, they laughed and enjoyed each other's company. Eventually, they decided they should change into their school uniforms. It wasn't long after that did the train come to a stop, having finally arrived at their destination. 

Dean and Charlie were getting more excited by the moment. Charlie was almost jumping up and down. Castiel, however, looked slightly worried. 

Charlie left the compartment but Dean stopped Cas before he could leave. Castiel looked at him, confused and tilted his head. 

"Hey, are you alright? You looked kind of worried," Dean asked him, honestly worried. 

"I am fine. Just a bit worried that I won't fit in, that is all," Castiel said, "you do not have to worry about me, Dean, but I appreciate your concern." 

Dean let Cas leave the compartment before following the pure-blood outside. Outside and off the train, hundreds of students walked along the pathway. 

A scrawny-looking man that stood about six feet tall, stood over the students. He called out over the large crowd of students. "First years, first years this way!" Dean and Cas looked at each other before going over to the man and following him with a group of other first year students. 

The scrawny man led the students over to the bank of a lake. A bunch of boats sat ready for the students. 

The man turned to face the group of students. "Hello, kids. I'm Garth Fitzgerald and I'm the keeper of the grounds here at Hogwarts as well as the Care For Magical Creatures Professor. I want each of you kids to get into groups of four and choose a boat. There will be no need for paddling as the boats will move on their own. Alright! Everybody in!" 

Castiel, Meg, Dean and Charlie all got into one boat. Charlie and Dean kept eying Meg and Meg kept sending glares back their way.

Like Garth had said, the boats started moving on their own. The boats slides smoothly across the lake. The boats turned a corner and multiple students gasped. 

A large castle stood there. The castle was beautiful and had multiple lights from inside. The boats moved slowly towards it. Most students stayed silent, taking in the sight of the beautiful school. A few others were whispering amongst themselves. 

After about ten or minutes, the boats arrived at the other side of the lake. Garth ordered the students to get out of the boats and they obeyed. Garth led the students up to the school. Once inside the school, Garth introduced the students to another teacher. 

"Kids, this is Professor Jody Mills, she's the deputy headmistress. She will be explaining the sorting ceremony to you and leading you to the Great Hall for the start of the year feast," Garth explains before leaving. 

Professor Mills smiled at all of the students. "Right this way, students," she said, leading them through Hogwarts. 

Castiel rolled his shoulders while he walked. He looked around, trying to see if anyone had noticed if he was uncomfortable. No one seemed to notice. 

Professor Mills led the students to a large room, before stopping and standing in front of them. "Inside of there is everyone else. Students, teachers and ghosts alike. In a bit, you will be led inside and you will be sorted. You will be sorted into one of four houses. Each house will be like your family for the remainder of your time here at Hogwarts. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." 

A blonde woman came through the large double doors, the students catching glimpses of the older students inside the room. The woman walked over to Professor Mills and whispered in her ear. Jody nodded and faced the students. 

"You will now be led into the Great Hall by Professor Donna Mills. Please follow her and you will be sorted. You will be called up one by one by names. Please wait for your name to be called before going up to the sorting hat, the object that will be sorting you lot," Jody says. 

The students follow Donna into the Great Hall. The Great Hall was filled with five tables. Four were vertical but the one in the front was horizontal. The one in the front was filled with adults, teachers. The other four were filled with students. The tables were decorated in different colored themes. 

In front of the teacher table, stood a small, wooden stool with an old hat sitting on top of it. Jody Mills went up to the stool and picked up the hat as well as a scroll. 

Jody started to call names. The first student called up was Millie Abbott. Millie went up and sat down on the wooden stool. Jody placed the old hat down on her head and a split second later, the hat yelled out "RAVENCLAW", causing many of the first year students to jump. 

Professor Mills called up a few more students before saying the name "Charlie Bradbury". Charlie walked over to the stool, visibly excited. The sorting hat was placed on her head. However, the hat stayed quiet, not calling out a house just yet. After about six minutes of absolute silence (Charlie getting more and more anxious by the moment) the hat called out "HUFFLEPUFF". 

More and more students were called up.

"Collins, Misha" 

"HUFFLEPUFF" 

"Croatoan, Jacob" 

"SLYTHERIN" 

"Decker, Chloe"

"GRYFFINDOR" 

"Goodman, Howard" 

"GRYFFINDOR"

"Netting, Tessa" 

"RAVENCLAW" 

After a long list of students, it was Meg's turn to get sorted. She got called up and walked rather confidently up to the stool. The hat sat on her head for less than a minute before shouting out "SLYTHERIN". 

And then it was Castiel's turn. His named got called and he jumped a little. Dean gave him a nudge and he stumbled forward. Castiel walked up to the stool and sat down. The hat was placed on top of his head. And just by his ear, Cas could hear the hat whispering. 

"Oh, another Novak. Except, this ones different from the other two. Shy and- oh! Loyal. So very loyal. You'd risk everything for the ones you care about, wouldn't you? Over and over again until you have nothing left. But you would do it all for them. And oh, dear, you have a secret, don't you?" The hat whispered in Castiel's ear. The mention of a secret made the pure-blood tense up. "Right, right. Now, I've seen many secrets in my time at Hogwarts. Even your professor Lupin has a secret similar to yours. But it's not quite the same, is it?" The hat chuckled. "Well, then. I believe you will do best in... HUFFLEPUFF." 

Castiel stood up, relieved that the sorting for him was over. He made his way over to the yellow and black color themed table and sat down next to Charlie, who had squished herself next to the older student she was sitting next to just so Cas could sit with her. 

It was a while before Dean's name was finally called. The Winchester stood up straight and walked over to the stool like everyone else before him. He sat himself down and felt the hat fall onto his head.

"Ooh, so you're him. I've been waiting for you to show yourself, Dean Winchester. I must say, you've got a long road ahead of you, but I think you can handle it, with the correct friends of course. Let's see... GRYFFINDOR!" 

Dean stood up with a smile on his face and went over to the Gryffindor's table. He sat himself down, his grin still plastered on his face. 

Not long after Dean's sorting, the last student was sorted. Everyone calmed down as the headmistress McGonagall stood up at the teacher's table. 

"Welcome first years and welcome back everyone else to another year at Hogwarts. It has been over a decade since the Battle of Hogwarts and we are still going on strong. We should all remember to keep our friends tight and our focus strong. For if we do, we'll have a great year ahead of us. Now, let the feast, as well as the school year, begin!"


	3. The Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of Hogwarts arrives rather quickly. Castiel stays quiet and shy, not really talking to anyone else. Dean makes some more friends.

McGonagall waved her hand and a feast appeared on each table. A few first year students gasped excitedly when they saw the food appear right in front of their eyes. 

The older boy that Charlie was sitting next to turned. "You two are first years, yeah?" He asks. He had brown, gelled hair as well as kind, brown eyes. "My names Blaine Anderson. I'm one of the Hufflepuff prefects."

Charlie and Castiel smiled at him. "I'm Charlie," Charlie greeted him, "and this is Cas." She introduces the two of them to Blaine. 

Blaine nods, "welcome. You'll love it here at Hogwarts. It takes a bit to get used to everything, but it gets easier later. You learn loads here, it's really interesting."

Charlie and Blaine go on to talking about classes and adapting to the class schedule. Castiel stays quiet and eats the given food. 

On the other end of the Great Hall, Dean sits with the other Gryffindors, chatting with them and getting to know his fellow-housemates. A few people down, a tall, brown-haired kid stands up and leans over to the first years, particularly Dean. 

"Hey, guys," the guy greets, "I'm Michael Novak, the Gryffindor prefect. I'll be the one you can go to if you need any help." 

Dean recognizes the last name. "You're Castiel's brother?" He asks Michael. 

Michael looks over at him. "Castiel actually talked to someone? You must be special or something. But, yes, I am Castiel's older brother. Apologies, he doesn't really talk to people much, it surprised me that he talked to someone on his first day here. Though, I'm glad he did. That kid really needs to socialize himself." 

The Winchester nodded. "Cas seems like a really nice kid." 

Michael gave Dean a surprised expression. "He actually let you give him a nickname? Someone must've put a spell on him! That's really unlike the Castiel at home. It's nice that he is talking to you, though, Dean. You already sound like a really great kid." 

At the front of the Great Hall, the teachers all sat at their table, observing the students in front of them and eating their own food. 

On one side of the table, Professor Sinistra of astronomy sat next to Professor Remus Lupin who taught Defense Against the Dark Arts, who sat next to Neville Longbottom who teaches herbology, then Bobby Singer who teaches History of Magic, then Rowena MacLeod who teahces potions, Missouri Moseley who teaches transfiguration, Madam Hooch the Quidditch coach, the ancient runes teacher Kevin Tran, who sits next to the arithmancy Professor Vector and then the charms Professor Jody Mills. 

Opposite of them, on the other side of the table, Garth sat next to the centaur Firenze who teaches Divination, Professor Asa Fox who teaches Muggle Studies, Rufus Turner who teaches Ancient Studies, Donna Hanscum teaches art, muggle art is taught by Katie Bell who sits next to Donna, and then the Earth magic professor, Kelly Kline, then the music teacher Professor Boot and finally the ghoul studies teacher, a Professor Campbell who is a ghost. 

In the center of the table, sits Headmistress McGonagall. The Headmistress sat, not touching her food, only eyeing the group of students in front of her. She looked over the new students, her gaze stopping when she spots a small, dark-haired, blue eyed boy. The tiniest smile formed at the corner of her lips when she spotted the boy. There hadn't been a boy quite like him since Remus Lupin first arrived at Hogwarts as a student; with a secret and full potential to become one of the greatest. 

McGonagall made note to keep an eye on Castiel. And at least try to keep the boy out of trouble. Who knows what the next seven years would bring with this kid? 

Castiel looked up and rolled his shoulders. He looked over at the teacher table and made eye contact with Professor McGonagall. The two of them looked right at each other for a moment before Cas broke the gaze and looked away. 

Once most of the food was cleared throughout the five tables, the main meal cleared and was replaced with multiple desserts. 

Charlie hummed when she saw all of the different sweets. "Oh I'm going to gain so much weight by the end of this year," she said, shaking her head and digging in to a chocolate cupcake. 

Castiel, however, didn't each any of the given desserts. He kept his hands in his lap and a tiny frown on his face. 

"Hey, c'mon, lighten up," Charlie told him, "This is going to be a fun school year. We're gonna learn and make new friends and just have a good time. Okay? Good." Charlie took a cookie from one of the plates in front of her. She looked at Cas and noticed that he didn't seem to believe her. "Are you okay?" She asks, her voice sounding more concerned than before. 

Cas nods. "I'm fine, Charlie. Just tired," he explains simply. It's the truth. Just maybe not the whole truth. 

"Oh, okay," Charlie replies. 

For the rest of the meal, Castiel sits there, not speaking to anyone and not eating any desserts. Eventually, Professor McGonagall stands up from her chair. 

"It has been a long day. I am sure you all are full and tired. So off you go. Your schedules will be handed out by the prefects before you will be shown to your assigned room." McGonagall excuses the students and sits down as all the students stand up in a wave of chaos. 

Prefects had to yell over the talking and tell the first years to follow them so the first years could be shown to the common rooms. 

Castiel caught a glimpse of Dean all the way across the room. Cas looked sadly at the boy he had already gotten to know and like. He watched as Dean disappeared with the other Gryffindors, while silently hoping he would be seeing more of the Winchester despite being in different houses. 

Blaine Anderson and one of the other Hufflepuff prefects led the first year Hufflepuffs to the common room that would be their home for the next seven years. 

The pair of prefects led the Hufflepuffs to the right once out of the Great Hall, while the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws went to left and the Slytherin went straight on. 

Inside, Hogwarts was just as beautiful as the outside. Though, in different ways. Through most of the corridors, there were moving pictures hanging on the walls. There were also multiple other, simple decorations around as well. Vases, pottery and occasional trophy (as well as other trinkets) stands were placed throughout the halls too. 

Castiel, though not in the best mood, couldn't help but admire all of the little things that went into the castle's decor and architecture. Hogwarts was truly amazing. 

Eventually, the group of Hufflepuff students arrived in the basement of Hogwarts. They passed what looked like a kitchen. Inside the kitchen there were small creatures working their butts off inside of the kitchen. Castiel recognized the creatures as house elves. 

The group walked passed the kitchens and over to a bundle of about six barrels. Blaine took out his wand and looked over at the first years. "Now, to open the entrance to our common room, you must tap this barrel five times in the way you would say 'Helga Hufflepuff', okay?" Most of the students nodded. Blaine demonstrates and taps the barrel five times. The barrels all move aside and a wooden door is revealed. The door opens and the Hufflepuff students are all allowed inside. 

The Hufflepuff common room immediately gave off a warm and welcoming vibe. The walls were painted a nice shade of yellow and there were black and yellow pieces of furniture placed around the room. Most of the furniture was placed around a large, welcoming fireplace.

Once most of the students finished taking in the sight of the Hufflepuff common room, The female prefect started to speak. And Blaine now had a bunch of papers in his arms.

"Each of you will be getting a schedule. It will show you your classes for the week. It will be the same classes for the whole year. And for the weekends,you will have no classes but will be expected to do homework during that time. Breakfast will start at 7:00 so please be up and dressed by that time tomorrow. Classes will be starting tomorrow. I'll be calling each of you up and you will be collecting your schedules from Blaine. Your stuff will be waiting for you in your rooms," the girl prefect said.

She started to call up students one by one. Charlie got called up and she went to go get her schedule. Charlie came back over to Cas and looked over her schedule with Castiel looking over her shoulder.

Castiel got called up shortly after Charlie did. He went over to Blaine and got his schedule. On the top of his schedule, it said his name, house and the number of the room he would be staying. Cas scanned through his schedule. Tomorrow he would be having Charms with Professor Mills, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Lupin, Potions with Professor MacLeod, and finally, flying with Madam Hooch. Those classes didn't seem half bad so perhaps tomorrow would be a good first day of school.

One of the students asked Blaine if it would be just Hufflepuffs in the classes. Blaine shook his head and responded, "no. Each of all of your classes will be with two of the other three houses."

Castiel's eyes light up at Blaine's answer. There was a chance he would actually be spending most of his year with The Kid From The Train.

The female prefect finished up calling out the first year's names for them to get their schedules. "Right. Well, boys' rooms are down that hall, girls' rooms are down that hall, and those who are neither, both or other can come see me so they can be allowed into the trans hallway."

Charlie and Castiel said goodbye to each other before separating, Charlie muttering about hoping to have some cool girls as her roommates.

Castiel followed the other boys down to the boys' hallway. He looked down at his schedule again to recheck what his room number was. Room 41. Cas was able to quickly find his room. Though, he wasn't the first to find it. Two other students were already inside and unpacking some of their stuff.

The two boys looked up when Castiel entered the room. Cas walked over to the third and last bed where his stuff was already set down. The boy who had claimed the middle bed smiled at Castiel.

"Hi," the boy says, "I'm Adam. Adam Milligan."

The other boy adds in his name, "and my name's Benny Leffite."

"Castiel Novak," Cas greets them. The Novak pauses. "I apologize if I seem out of it, I'm very tired."

Both boys shrugged in response. "It's cool," Benny says.

Castiel goes quiet as he takes his stuff off of his bed. He takes out one of the school uniforms he had bought at Diagon Alley and sets it out for morning. Castiel didn't bother packing or even changing into some comfortable pajamas before slipping under the warm sheets of his bed and doing his best to fall asleep.

Benny and Adam talked quietly between the pair of them while Castiel fell asleep. They talked for a bit before following Cas' actions and getting into bed.

Elsewhere, Dean Winchester was getting his own schedule for school. He and the other new Gryffindors stood in the red-themed Gryffindor common room. When he got his schedule, Dean looked over it, mentally trying to prepare for whatever classes he had to do tomorrow. First he would have Herbology with Professor Longbottom (he almost snickered at the name), and then Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and flying lessons. Dean, honestly, couldn't wait to do flying lessons. Though he was scared of the muggle version of flying (planes or just free-falling), Dean rather loved using a broom. Unlike on a muggle plane, Dean felt like he could control his movements on a broom. And, oh, how he loved the feeling of flying free.

Michael The Prefect pointed to two hallways where the boys and the girls would seperate before pointing to a third hallway that was reserved for those who were trans, non-binary or other. Michael explained that if someone didn't feel comfortable in the gender-specified halls that they should come to him and he could work something out with them. Once Michael finished explaining everything, he let the students go off to their dorm rooms to get some sleep.

Dean easily found his room. When he entered his room, he grinned when he saw Dr. Whoo, along with his other things, on one of the five beds. He walked over to his owl and gently patted him through the birdcage.

He looked up when four other boys came into the room. "Hey," Dean greeted them before introducing himself, "Dean Winchester."

"Poe Dameron."

"John Watson."

"I'm Amendiel Canaan."

"Finn Calrissian."

Dean smiled and each of the other four boys smiled back at him. There wasn't much conversation as each of the boys unpacked their things and one by one, got into bed. John and Amendiel talked wizard stuff and Poe tried flirting with Finn while Dean watched with an amused look as Finn had no clue what Poe was trying to get across.

When Dean finally got into bed, the mattress under him felt so nice and he sunk easily into it, falling asleep quickly.

The next morning, Poe jabbed a finger into Dean's shoulder, causing the Winchester to jump up, suddenly awake. Amenediel and Poe both laughed at his reaction while Dean sent them glares.

Dean forced himself out of the warm, comfortable bed and got dressed into the Hogwarts school uniform. Dean's school uniform consists of a black robe with the Gryffindor crest on it, a grey sweater, some black pants, as well as a red and yellow striped tie. 

Once dressed, Dean as well as his four other roommates walked out of their dorm and down into the common room. Other students were already out in the common room, most were slipping out of the picture frame exit while some were waiting for their friends to arrive. 

What came as a surprise to Dean, was one of the first year girls came up to him and started talking to him. 

"Hi," she greeted smugly, "my name's Lisa Braedon. I was wondering if maybe I could hang out with you? I haven't exactly made a lot of friends yet and you look nice." 

Dean looked at her for a moment, a smile growing on his lips. "Sure. You can tag along." He grinned at Lisa. He and Lisa walked through the exit of the common room and out into the halls of Hogwarts. 

They walked to the Grand Staircase where multiple, smaller staircases were moving around and connecting rooms to other rooms. 

Lisa and Dean made their way over to one of the staircases that was headed in the direction of the Great Hall for breakfast. Lisa almost tripped when the staircase started moving beneath the pair of them. Her arms went out and she grabbed the railing and Dean's arm. Lisa pulled away a moment later, her face pink. Dean chuckled at her. 

After a bit of walking, Dean and Lisa arrived at the Great Hall. Loads of the other students were arriving around the same time they were. The tables were already filling up with kids and the teacher table was already full. 

The pair of them walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down, talking to each other. "So," Dean starts, "what classes do you have today?" 

Lisa thinks for a second. "Herbology, History of Magic, Transfiguration, and Flying," Lisa answers. She looks at Dean, "what about you?" 

"Herbology, Defense Against The Dark Arts, Potions and then Flying. I can't wait for flying lessons. I would fly around with my brother all the time when we were younger." Dean laughs softly, already missing his little brother. "That was until Bobby told us to stop or we were going to get caught and Bobby didn't want to deal with the Ministry." 

Lisa nods in response. The pair go on talking and laughing with each other while also eating a very tasty and filling breakfast. 

A short time earlier, Castiel woke up himself. He was still in his clothes from the day before and grumbled about how they were all wrinkled, mentioning that he would really like to learn and ironing spell. Castiel got up out of bed and looked over to see that Adam and Benny were talking quietly together. They seemed to get along nicely. So maybe that would leave Castiel alone. 

Castiel gathered his clothes and quickly left the shared dorm room to go to the even more shared bathroom so he could change. Cas didn't really feel comfortable changing in front of other people, so he went to change privately into his Hufflepuff school uniform. 

Cas came back to his room and gathered the stuff he would need for the day. Though not really knowing what to bring and what not to bring for the first day, Castiel grabbed his Potions, DADA, and Charms book as well as his wand. 

His wand was rather pretty. It was apple wood, 12 1/4 inches, and Phoenix feather. His wand was slightly bendy and Cas had been told it would do better dueling and was quite loyal to it's owner, so that was good. 

(Castiel's wand) 

With his things ready, Castiel made his way over to the common room before leaving the Hufflepuffs' shared room to go get some breakfast. 

Castiel walked alone through the halls of Hogwarts. He had a pretty good memory so it was easy for him to get to the Great Hall for some food to start the long day ahead of him. He found himself quickly surrounded by other incoming students on his way to the Great Hall. 

When Cas arrived, he noticed that a large group of students had already sat themselves down and were digging into their breakfast. Castiel found an empty spot on the Hufflepuff table and sat down, alone. 

The pure-blood got some breakfast and left the Great Hall rather quickly. He made his way back through the halls of Hogwarts, trying to find the charms classroom. It didn't take Cas much time to find the classroom. 

He sat his stuff down at an empty desk and sat himself down. What Cas didn't realize was the charms teacher was already in the classroom and was watching him silently. 

"Hello," Jody greets finally when Castiel doesn't realize she's there right away." 

Castiel jumps in his seat and looks up over at Jody. "Oh hello," he says sheepishly, his face turning a light shade of pink. 

Jody chuckles a bit. "You had some breakfast, right? I don't want you skipping any meals now." Jody had a mother vibe to her and Castiel didn't mind it, having not really having a mother figure in his life. 

"Yes, ma'am. I did have breakfast," Castiel confirms. 

Jody laughs softly at his response. "Excited to get class started or so nervous that you just couldn't eat?" She asks. 

"A little bit of both," Cas says shyly with a small laugh. 

The charms Professor smiles. "Well, consider me excited and nervous to have you in my class. You seem like someone who could either get into a lot of trouble or will be a really well-behaved student. Or maybe both." 

Castiel smiles. "That will depend on what happens throughout the year." 

Jody smiles and gets back to preparing for her first class of the day. "Every year at Hogwarts is an adventure. There's always something exciting and most of the time dangerous going on. You can't have a bunch of magically advance kids in one place without there being danger." 

Cas laughs quietly. He goes silent, however, when another few students come into the classroom. Jody looked over at Cas when he goes quiet.

Before long, the class is started and Jody goes over the attendance to make sure everyone was present. After going over attendance with one student missing, Jody decides to wait for the student. About three minutes later, a small boy comes rushing into the classroom. Jody gives him a look and the boy turns pink of embarrassment, whispering an apology. 

Jody nods, saying it's ok before she officially starts the class. The Professor goes over the rules and the things they would be going over in class. Once these things were done and sorted, Jody said that they could go over some very simple charms. 

The charms teacher took out a load of feathers and passed them around, giving one to each student. 

"For the next couple of classes, we will be working on a levitation charm. You work this charm by gently flicking your wrist and saying the incantation 'Wingardium Leviosa' while flicking your wrist. Remember to point your wand at the feather, I know it's supposedly common knowledge but you wouldn't know how many students have messed that up." 

There's silence throughout the room. "Go on," Jody says and the practicing starts. 

Each student says the incantation, others with a lot of hesitation, some with confidence. No one was able to get the feather to float more than a foot off the ground, but at least a couple students got it moving a few inches. 

Castiel just managed to move it four inches off his desk when the class ended. There was a rush to get to the next class as students quickly gathered their things and left the classroom. 

Cas gave Jody his thanks before leaving to go to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. There was a solid seven minutes between classes, just to give students enough time to get to their next classes. 

When Castiel found the classroom, a bunch of other students had already beat him to it. One of the students was Dean. Cas couldn't help the spark of joy that lit in his stomach when he saw Dean sitting there. 

Cas went over to Dean and asked if he could sit down next to him. Dean looked up when Cas came over to him and smiled at the other boy. The half-blood allowed the pure-blood to sit next to him. Castiel smiled in his thanks and sat down. 

Dean had some of his stuff scattered over the desk he was sitting at. Among that stuff, lay his wand. Dean's wand was ebony wood, 13 inches in length, with a unicorn hair core. 

(Dean's wand) 

Once the more students arrived and the seven minute break between classes ended, the office door that sat at the end of the classroom opened and a male teacher walked in. The professor smiled at all of the students and grabbed his student attendance paper. 

The teacher walked to the front of the class. "Hello, students," he greeted, "my name is Professor Lupin and I'll be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." 

Castiel realized something just then. This was the Professor Lupin the sorting hat had been talking about. How he hadn't realized before, he didn't know. 

Professor Lupin started to call names from the attendance sheet, each student replied with "here" or something of the sorts. When the professor got to Castiel's name, he looked up and made eye contact with Cas when the pure-blood said "here". 

Eventually, Lupin really started the class. He went over the rules and basics of the year. Lupin asked for questions once he finished. A couple of kids did raise their hands (or two kids raised their wands). 

Lupin called on the first student. "Yes?" 

The student hesitated before asking her question, "is it true you fought in the Battle of Hogwarts?" She asks. 

The Professor's face immediately turns into a sad frown, like he was missing someone. "Yes, it is true that I fought in that battle, along with others. I, actually, lost someone in that particular fight. Her name was Tonks. She left me and our son, Teddy. Teddy usually stays with his godparents and their children, though." 

The next question was quite similar. "Did you teach Harry Potter?" 

Lupin laughs a bit at that question. "I did. He was one of my best students." 

"How long have you been teaching here?" 

"I continued working here a few years ago. Before that, I only worked in this position for a year," Lupin answers.

The entire time Lupin is answering questions, Castiel and Dean are whispering back and forth between each other, discussing their schedule. They aren't the only ones talking so they don't get into trouble. 

"Anyone else?" 

No one else raised their hands, or wands. Lupin nods after a moment. He looks out at the silent class. 

"Right. Well, I want all of you to take out your books and start reading the first two chapters. It's okay if you don't finish, it won't be for homework. You don't have any homework from me today. I will be in my office if any of you need me." Lupin left the room to go to his office. 

Castiel watched him leave. If this really was the Professor Lupin the sorting hat was talking about, then maybe Lupin had a secret like Cas did or maybe something similar to it. There was only one way to find out. Besides, Cas can read the first two chapters of a book later. 

Cas stands up from his chair, whispering to Dean, "I'll be back." 

The pure-blood walked over to Lupin's office, slightly nervous that maybe Lupin didn't have a similar secret to Cas and it was something completely different. Or maybe Lupin would laugh at Cas for his secret. 

Castiel knocked on the office door and Lupin opened it, looking at Castiel with a confused look. 

"Professor?" Castiel asked with a quiet voice, "may I come in?" 

Lupin stood there for a moment, his eyes on Castiel before stepping aside and letting the young wizard inside. 

"What can I help you with, Castiel?" Lupin asks. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Castiel’s wand was chosen because of the resemblance to an Angel Blade, as well as the apple-like coloring that went well with the apple wood.  
> Also notice that Castiel’s room number is 41, which is the episode number Misha’s Castiel first appeared. 4x1, Lazarus Rising.  
> 


	4. The Secret

Castiel takes a breath, preparing himself for the multiple outcomes of telling the professor about what the Sorting Hat had told him. 

"Well, during my sorting, the sorting hat mentioned you," Castiel starts. 

Lupin raises his chin slightly, curious as to where Cas was going with this. 

"The hat mentioned that you had a secret that was similar to mine. And I was thinking that if you do have a secret like mine, that perhaps I could confine in you about it. At home, I have one of my brothers helping me, but here it's a bit different..." 

Lupin's eyebrow rises and he crosses his arms. The professor has an idea what Castiel is talking about, but waits for Cas himself to say it. "That depends on what your secret is." Lupin pauses. "If you do not wish to tell me, I understand." 

Castiel shakes his head. "No, I think I can tell you." After a deep inhale of breath, Castiel rolls his shoulders and wills his secret to reveal itself. 

Two, big, black wings appear over Castiel's shoulder. Lupin looks at the wings, surprised. Cas gets worried when Lupin doesn't say anything so the pure-blood goes on to explain. 

"W-when I was born, I got cursed. Cursed to have these wings. They never caught who cast the spell and they still have no clue who did it. After a few weeks of me being alive with the wings, my mother couldn't handle it. So she left. She left because of the curse. I'm still on the fence about whether or not I like them. They make me, well, me. But they make me different. For the first five years of my life, I was hidden away because of my wings. I didn't go out unless into the woods with my siblings, I couldn't have any friends. Now, I just use my clothes to cover them and will them through a different plane of existence so they can appear while I still have clothes on." Castiel explained all of this to Lupin, while expecting a negative response from the professor. 

Lupin is silent for a moment, taking in Castiel's story. And then he lets out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, actually, I do believe we have similar secrets." Cas looks at him, silently asking the professor to explain. 

"When I was a small boy, I got attacked by a werewolf. It bit me to get revenge on my parents. From then on, I would turn into a werewolf every month. It's the reason I left teaching here all those years ago," Lupin says. "But I had friends that helped me get through. Peter, James and... Sirius. They helped me get through the night each month. They stayed with me the whole time." Lupin laughs sadly. "Y'know, Sirius... he used to be my mate. He kept me sane all those years." 

"Past tense?" Castiel asked quietly. 

Lupin nodded. "He died on a mission. It was a long time ago, though." 

"Will... Will I have a mate too?" Cas asks. 

"I assume so. I know a curse that can turn someone into a deva, a winged human. And devas have mates." Lupin looked at him for a second. "Is that about the boy you were talking to?" 

Castiel's face went a deep shape of pink. "N-no!" 

Lupin chuckled. "Wouldn't be a bad choice," Lupin commented. "You two really remind me of Sirius and I when we were young." The professor smiled sadly, remembering his past. 

The two of them stay quiet and then Castiel excuses himself and goes back to the classroom so he could at least get started with reading the first two chapters of the book. He rolled his shoulders and his wings disappeared. 

Lupin watched as the young boy left his office. The professor shook his head, "Minerva's right, that boy's going to be trouble." He whispered to himself. 

Back in the classroom, Castiel walked back over to Dean. Dean looked up and smiled over to Cas, Cas smiled back and sat down next to his friend. 

Shortly after Castiel went back to the classroom, the class ended and the students were free to go. Cas gathered his things and walked with Dean to their next class. The two of them walked throughout the castle and eventually made it to the castle grounds where the flying lessons would take place. 

With the brooms already lined up and ready for the oncoming students, Madam Hooch stood, waiting on a field outside of Hogwarts. 

Once outside and in the place where the class would take place, Castiel looked over at Dean. The cursed pure-blood thought about what Lupin had said early about having Dean as a mate. Could Dean even accept him? Would Dean want to become his mate? Were chosen by fate or could the first mate choose? 

Cas was pulled out of his thoughts and silent questions when Madam Hooch started the flying class. Madam Hooch had a clipboard in her arms. Reading off the paper attached to the clipboard, Madam Hooch called out names to make sure every who was supposed to be there was present. Once everyone was present and accounted for, Madam Hooch started the first flying lesson. 

"Everyone, I want you to step up the left side of your broom. Raise your right hand above the broom and say 'up'," Madam Hooch ordered her students. 

Everyone obeyed and almost simultaneously stepped op to their brooms and followed Madam Hooch's orders. The word "up" was repeated through the class of students. Immediately, Castiel's broom snapped up to his hand. Cas grinned, feeling the wooden broom in his hand. Almost two seconds after Cas succeeded, Dean's brook snapped up. The two friends smiled at each other when they saw the other had gotten their broom to listen to them. 

Madam Hooch watched as more and more students succeeded in commanding their broom. Five minutes later, Madam Hooch went to help the students who were having trouble getting their brooms to obey them. 

Once she was done and all the students had their brooms in hand, the teacher told the students to mount their brooms. She informed them to stay close to the top of their brooms, but not too close. 

With her own broom, Madam Hooch showed the students how to get on their brooms and press off of the hard ground, launching her into the sky. After doing a circle around the group of students, Madam Hooch came down to the ground. She told the students to just raise themselves a couple feet off the ground and not moving 

Madam Hooch told them to get started and the students kicked off the ground, a students only raised themselves about a foot off the ground while others went about six feet off the ground. Madam Hooch watched all of the students carefully. She made many corrections to help the kids stay steady. The teacher went around, giving tips to each student. When she came to Cas and Dean, she only nodded at them and gave a small tip to Dean to keep his hands a bit closer to him. 

After doing her rounds, Madam Hooch told the students to land themselves. Castiel and Dean landed gracefully while others stumbled to the ground. One of the students actually jumped off the broom to get to the ground. 

Madam Hooch separated the class in half, allowing the first half of the students to pair up and practice flying while the other half went with Madam Hooch to practice the basics. 

Castiel and Dean teamed up and went over to the corner of the field to practice together. The two of them got onto their own brooms and flew up into the air. They raced each other higher and higher into the air. 

"You're pretty fast," Dean commented when they stopped racing each other. "Have a lot of practice?" 

"Yes, I've had a bit of practice. Michael says I'm a natural." 

Dean chuckled, "well, you are." The Winchester inhale deeply. "The air's pretty thin up here, how are you breathing fine?" 

Cas' eyes went wide for a split second. "I don't know. Guess I'm an easy breather," Castiel lies. Cas can't help the nasty feeling in his gut when he lies to Dean. 

The pair of them look down at the field below them. The other students below them so small. They were the highest ones of the class. 

Dean circled around Castiel, smiling at his friend. Cas grinned back and started to chase Dean around. The two of them laughed and raced. Castiel quickly caught up to Dean and managed to tap his shoulder before calling "got you!" 

They laughed together. Dean looked at Cas. "Man, it's like your not even on a broom when you fly. It's really impressive. I wouldn't be surprised if you get asked to join the Quidditch team next year." 

Cas smiles. "Thanks. I bet you'd get on too. You're a really good flier." 

From far below them, Madam Hooch called for them to come down. The two friends exchanged a look before diving towards the ground, racing each other once again to see who could get there first. 

Dean pulled up before Cas did, he stopped, hovering a few feet of the ground. 

Castiel, however, didn't pull up. He managed to pull off a move that allowed him to stop a split second before landing on the ground. Both of his feet were placed on the ground a moment after. It was a swift and smooth move that had a big chance of failing but Cas got it right. The Novak looked over at Dean. "I win," he says, having landed on the ground before Dean had a chance to. 

The Winchester looked at Cas, wide-eyed. "Nice trick." Dean laughed as he got off his broom. 

"Novak!" Madam Hooch called from across the field. The Quidditch coach stood with Professor Donna Hanscum, the Head of Hufflepuff and the Wizard Art Teacher. "Come over here!" 

Castiel glanced over at Dean, who shrugged, before walking over to the two teachers. "Yes?" He asks quietly, scared that he was in trouble for doing a dive like the one he just did. 

"You've been in the air before today?" Madam Hooch asks him. 

"Yes, ma'am. Only a couple of times on a broom, but yes," Cas answers. 

Madam Hooch and Professor Hanscum glance at each other. The Quidditch coach looks back at Castiel. "I want you to go with Professor Hanscum. She's going to take you to meet someone." 

Cas nods and follows Donna, though not before looking back at Dean with a rather confused expression. Donna walks away from the field with Castiel beside him. "Y'know, it's funny. The last person who was in this position was Harry Potter. Can you believe that?" 

The Novak didn't answer, he was more worried about where he was going and who he was going to meet. 

Eventually, Donna stopped outside a classroom. "Jody-o, can I please see Espinoza?" She asked, peaking her head into the classroom. A moment later, Donna stepped aside and out walked an older boy. 

Donna led the two boys away from the classroom so their conversation wouldn't carry over and interrupt anyone. "Danny, I want you to meet Castiel. Castiel, this is Dan Espinoza. He's the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain. I'm gonna quote McGonagall from her stories, 'I found you a seeler'." Donna clapped her hands excitedly. "Well? Do you think he could work?" 

Dan looked over Castiel's figure. He seemed to be thinking for a moment before he turned to Donna. "Yes, he could work well. He could work quite well. Thank you, Professor." 

"Danny, you can call me Donna, y'know," Donna reminded Dan. 

"I know, Professor," Dan says. 

Donna sighs, "we'll get there someday," she says. Donna turns to Castiel. "When do you have some time off? You're a first year, so after lunch, correct? Maybe you and Dan can meet up and discuss anything else for Quidditch. Capeesh? Capeesh."

Castiel looked over to Dan, who nodded at him. 

Donna nods. "Well, I'll let you two get back to your classes." Donna leaves them be and Castiel goes back to his flying lessons and to Dean, while Dan goes back over to his class. 

When Castiel gets back, Dean is looking around for him, looking worried. Dean spots Cas and smiles at him. Cas goes over to him. 

"So? Did you get expelled? You're not going to leave, are you?" Dean asks him. 

Castiel shakes his head, "no. I did not get expelled. Or in trouble, actually. Professor Hanscum, I think that's her name, just asked me to be on the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team! The team captain and I will be meeting up out here after lunch." 

Dean's mouth fell open. "Whoa, really? That's so cool! Something like that hasn't happened since Harry Potter! The Chosen One! I have to admit I'm a bit jealous, but hey, just another year before I can get on the Gryffindor team and try to beat you at something. Wait- what position will you be playing?" 

"Seeker," Castiel answers proudly. 

Dean grins at him.

Madam Hooch calls everyone over for the end of class discussion. Dean doesn't bother listening, instead he stares at Castiel, thinking about how when they first met, Castiel barely talked around anyone else and now he's acting all happy and comfortable. Dean fells something warm and cozy sprout in his stomach, but he ignores it, passing it on as just some weird, twisted form of jealousy. 

Madam Hooch wrapped up the class and excused her students to go to their next class. Dean and Castiel made their way down to the dungeons for Potions with Professor MacLeod. On their way, they met up with both Charlie and Meg. Dean introduced Charlie to Meg. Though, the two girls didn't get off to a good start. 

Dean leaned over to Castiel while the four of them walked and whispered to him, asking Cas if it was okay that Dean told Meg and Charlie about Cas' new achievement. Castiel said it was okay. 

"Hey, guys. So you wouldn't believe what just happened to Cas in flying today," Dean started, getting both girls' attention. "Cas and I were fooling around up in the air and we raced down to the ground when we got called. Cas made an incredible move and beat me to the ground. He got called over to Madam Hooch and the Head of Hufflepuff was there. So the Head took Cas to meet the Hufflepuff Team Captain so now Cas now has a position on the team as seeker." 

"Whoa!" Charlie exclaims. "Nice going, Cas! I'm so proud!" Charlie pats Cas' back. Cas pulls away from the touch on instinct but smiled at Charlie in thanks. 

Meg smiled. "Good job, Clarence. Before Potter, no one else had managed to do that in more than one hundred years." 

"Who knew you were so keen on Quidditch," Dean commented to Meg. Meg scowled at him. 

The four of them arrived at the Potions classroom and found a table set for four and sat down. Meg had her wand out as well as a couple other books. Her wand had a dragon heartstring core, blackthrone wood and was 10 inches long. 

(Meg's wand)

Charlie's wand, on the other hand, had cypress wood, a Phoenix feather core, and was 13 3/4 inches long. 

(Charlie's wand) 

After more students were settled down, a red-headed woman with bouncy curls in her hair walked into the room. "Hello class. 'M afraid you will not need your wands for my class, so you can put those away. My name is Rowena MacLeod and I'm your Potions Professor. For this class, since we will not have enough time to make any potions, we will be going over the rules and regulations." 

The students all listened to Professor MacLeod go over her rules, saying stuff they could do and couldn't do. She went over the rules about if cauldron mishaps when the cauldron is ruined. 

About halfway through the rules, Castiel raised his hand. Dean could tell that Cas looked worried. Like really worried. 

Rowena called on Castiel, "yes, dear?" 

"May I go to the bathroom?" Cas asks, sounding urgent. 

The professor sighs. "Yes, dear, you may go to the bathroom. But hurry back, I don't want you to miss any important rules, okay?" 

Castiel nodded and stood up before rushing out of the room. It took the Novak a little bit to find the bathroom, but he eventually found one and almost ran inside when he found it. Cas made his way over to one of the stalls. Now, Cas didn't really have to go to the bathroom. He was far more in need of something else. 

The pure-blood rolled his shoulders and his wings appeared on his back. Cas let out a sharp exhale of breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. His black, beautiful wings stretched out behind him, as far as they could go without hitting the dirty walls of the bathroom stall. Which, by the way, was not far at all. 

Cas let out a small groan of pain. Usually, he would have to let his wings out four times a day, he would keep them out all the time at home. But here at school, he couldn't. It had been something close to 48 hours and Cas had only let his wings out once before now. It seems that not letting his wings out to stretch at least four times, caused pain. And lots of it. 

If Castiel could stretch his wings out further, he would. But he had a 12 foot wing-span and he could not risk his wings being spotted by any passing student. So, he tried his best to improvise by bending his wings around the walls of the stall. It didn't work. Instead, his plan caused more pain. 

Cas let out a whimper as he pulled his wings back and folded them close to his back. He heard the door open, which made Cas jump. Quickly, Castiel hid his wings, making them disappear. But, doing that made Cas let out a quiet sound of pain. 

"Cas?" 

It was Dean. Of course it was Dean. 

"Cas, buddy, you okay in there?" Dean asks, standing outside of Castiel's stall. 

"Y-yes, Dean. I'm fine. Just finishing up," Cas lied. Again. 

Dean decided to go wait for him outside the bathroom. Cas came out a dew minutes later, baring no proof that he had just been in pain and still was. 

The two of them walked back to the Potions classroom. Once there, Castiel gave an apologetic look to Professor MacLeod before sitting back down with the two girls and Dean. 

It was a shorter class than Castiel thought it would be. So maybe he was in the bathroom longer than he believed. He didn't really keep track of the time while in there. For soon after, the Potions class ended and it was finally time for some lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Jody and Donna are together. Sorry not sorry.  
> Devas are D&D creatures that are a subspecies of angels. Devas are from Buddhism, which by the way, was quite interesting to read about.


	5. The Rumors

Castiel, Dean, Charlie and Meg all made their way through the halls of the castle-like wizarding school. By now the rumor had, somehow, already spread that Cas was going to be apart of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. And Cas was not at all liking the attention. 

The cursed pure-blood stuck close to Dean, using the half-blood as some sort of protection from all of the unwanted attention. Dean didn't mind, he had to hide the half-smile that grew on his face was Cas started using this particular technique. 

The four of them arrived in the Great Hall and decided 'to Hell with house boundaries' and all sat down at the Gryffindor table, the most empty table so far out of the four tables. Food was already spread out along the tables, waiting for the students to take it and begin their midday meal. 

Castiel felt loads of eyes on him from different parts of the room, including from the teacher table. He was not enjoying this extra attention and slouched over in his seat. 

Deciding to try and comfort his friend, Dean placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder. The deva flinched and moved away from Dean's light touch. Dean, in response, gave Castiel a weird look but did his best not to touch Cas' back or shoulders again.

By now, more students had filled up the Great Hall and were now eating from the tables. There was a range of food on each table for the students' different tastes. Most of the students obeyed the house boundaries and sat with their own house. There were a few who went to other tables, but they mostly stayed to their houses. 

There was a loud sound from above. A couple of the muggle-borns jumped at the new sound. Everyone looked up as a swarm of owls came in to the Great Hall through an opening somewhere in the ceiling. 

Packages and letters dropped all around and fell into their designated owner's hands. Castiel caught a letter. Dr. Whoo perched himself down next to Dean and had a letter attached to his leg. Dean untied the letter from Dr. Whoo's leg and opened it. A small package dropped into Charlie's hands and the red-headed girl grinned, glad that her parents had found the correct way to message her. Meg sat with a frown on her face and her arms crossed. 

Cas opened his letter and took out three different pieces of paper. He smiled, already knowing who they were from. 

' _Dearest Cassie,_

_It's been pretty lonely without you, Michael and Luci around. I hope you got into a good house and have made plenty of friends. Though I doubt you actually did the latter, but hey! Maybe you'll surprise me!_

_When Luci first went to school, he immediately got his archenemy. Remember when we got his letter about how there was another Lucifer and that damn Morningstar was in the opposite house? That was fun. Do you have an archenemy yet?_

_We all miss you loads back home. Dad and Mum don't seem to notice, but then again, they never care so nothing changed there._

_Only two years until I can come with you to Hogwarts! Isn't that exciting!_

_Do you have any girlfriends yet? Or boyfriends? A boyfriend or a girlfriend would be cool with me. Maybe you'll get one better Luci and you can rub it in his face!_

_Well, I miss hanging with my big bro._

_Lol_

_(Lots of love, apparently?? It's a muggle thing?)_

_~Gabriel_ ' 

Cas couldn't help but smile at his younger brother. He missed Gabriel a lot. Gabe was usually the one who helped Cas out with his wings. Though, Michael would help out every now and again. He went on to read the second one. 

' _Hey, big brother,_

_Hope schools well for you. What are the muggle-borns like and how different are they? Luci was saying all this stuff about them having crazy weird hair and super weird tattoos that actually stay still!_

_Miss you._

_~ Balthazar_ '

Castiel looked over his short letter from Balthazar. Balthazar was going through a phase where he tried not to show that he cared for anyone at all. So, Cas was just glad he got a letter that had more than one word on it. Cas looked over the third and final one. 

' _Castiel, my big loving bro,_

_I miss you a lot. Gabriel is doing a pretty terrible job at taking care of us all but I'm a big girl, I can take of myself when he can't!_

_... don't tell him I said that._

_I miss seeing your big, poofy wings whenever you're around. Also I hope you've told you're friends about your secret. Gabe says you have to hide and I don't want you to have to hide, it's not fair. You should be allowed to show your true self around your friends!_

_Gabey says we're gonna see a muggle movie soon and I'm really excited because I have no does what it's gonna be like but I know it's going to be super fun!_

_Love, Anna_ ' 

Castiel chuckled under his breath. Gabriel was two years younger him, Balthazar only a year younger than Gabe and Anna was five. 

Dean looked over Cas' shoulder. Cas immediately panicked because Anna had mentioned his wings and he couldn't have Dean know. Not yet, anyways. Dean gave Cas another look but shrugged it off. The Winchester went back to reading his own letter. 

' _Dean,_

_I wasn't expecting it to be this hard without you, but it is. Ellen understands and she misses you too but I don't think she misses you as much as I miss you. I was really glad when I saw Dr. Whoo outside my window. I already had my letter ready when he came._

_I want you to tell me how it is. How everything is. The sorting, your house, your friends, crushes, everything. Now that you're actually there, is it as beautiful as Bobby describes? How is Bobby? Tell him I say hi, will you? Also tell hi to any and all of your friends for me._

_Will you be coming home for Christmas break or are your friends better than family? Maybe Bobby will convince Ellen to let a couple of your friends to come over! That would be fun!_

_What's your favorite class so far? What about least favorite? How well has your wand been working? Your wand's like super cool by the way._

_I should probably let you get back to whatever wizard stuff you're doing._

_Bye!_

_\- Sam_ ' 

Dean missed his brother a lot, but reading this letter made him miss Sammy even more. Sure, the two brothers could get into nasty fights, but they were still brothers and Dean loves Sam. The Winchester put his letter away. 

Cas, Dean and Charlie all looked surprised when a Slytherin girl came over to their table and sat down next to Meg. The girl smiled at Meg before speaking, "why aren't you at the Slytherin table? You don't miss me?" 

Meg bit her lip. "Sorry, Maze. Guys, this is Mazikeen Smith, she's a second year. Maze, this is Dean Winchester, Charlie Bradbury and Castiel Novak." 

Maze crossed her arms. "The to-be Hufflepuff seeker? I'm on the Slytherin team. I play keeper." 

Castiel nodded, not saying anything in response. Maze looked at Castiel for a moment before looking over Dean and Charlie. She hummed when she looked over Dean. "Not a bad choice of friends, but I have to say, you could've done better." 

Dean rolls his eyes. Maze and Meg chuckle at that. Mazikeen stands and pats Meg's shoulder before going back over to the Slytherin table. 

"So. Maze." Charlie wiggled an eyebrow at Meg. 

Meg immediately shook her head, her face going pink. "No no no. It's not like that!" 

Charlie laughs, "sure it's not. Just wait a year or two and you'll be together. I bet it." Dean laughs along with Charlie's teasing. 

The group of students talk for a bit and eat their lunch, Castiel speaking more now that he's around people he's comfortable with. Soon enough, all four kids were full from their meal. 

Dan, the Quidditch Captain from before, came over to their small group. "Castiel, are you ready to go over the rules?" He asks Cas. 

Cas nods, standing up. He quietly says goodbye to his friends before leaving to go back to the field outside with Dan. 

Dean and the two girls watched him go. Meg spoke, "he's regularly quiet around everyone else. Do you think it's just him or something happened?" 

Charlie shrugged. "We've only known that kid for a day or two, we'll get to know him better and find out. I'm hoping it's only him." 

"I hope so too," Dean agreed with a nod. 

Outside, Dan didn't lead Cas to the field where his Flying class had recently taken place but to the Quidditch pitch a bit farther away from the school. Firstly, Dan showed Cas to the Hufflepuff changing room. Cas was showed the Hufflepuff Quidditch uniform that he would have to wear while playing. Dan explained that he would be getting his own uniform made as well as his own broom bought for him as the school brooms couldn't compete with the other brooms students had. 

Castiel listened intently, nodding whenever Dan checked to see if he was paying attention. Dan seemed really into Quidditch and seemed like a really good team captain. 

Next, Dan brought Castiel to the field. "You've been to a Quidditch game before, right? Or at least know the rules?" Dan asks Cas. 

"I know some of the rules, but I've never seen a game before," Castiel answered him. 

Dan nodded and went to get a large box. He brought the box out to the center of the field and Cas followed him, curiously. Dan opened the box to reveal four balls inside. Two of them were identical, the third was the largest and about the size of a volleyball. Dan briefly went over the names of the three balls as well as the role they would play in the game. He mentioned the first six positions on a Quidditch team. One keeper, two beaters and three chasers. 

Finally, Dan unlocked the final ball. The golden snitch. Dan informed Cas that this was the ball he would have to find to end the game. Dan said that the Hufflepuffs had an advantage. Because, Hufflepuffs.. are particularly good finders. Castiel already knew about the snitch and the other balls as well as the positions on a Quidditch team. He had just never seen a game before. That was until he got caught using his wings, after that he didn’t really play much. When he did, he would use a broom. 

Sometimes, his brothers would play Quidditch on their own brooms and Cas would play along as seeker because he was the lightest one of the bunch. But he almost never used a broom, instead using his wings because that was much easier and far less expensive. 

Dan put the snitch away, saying that they would save that for the first game. Instead, he pulled out some muggle golfing balls. 

"We'll be using these to practice. I want to see how good you really are," Dan says, while getting a school-used broom for Cas to fly on. 

Cas took the broom and shot himself up into the air. He zoomed around for a moment before hovering over Dan, waiting for him to start throwing the now-enchanted golfing balls. Dan had enchanted them to move around in the air so Cas could practice chasing it around. 

The first ball was tossed into the air. This one, wasn't charmed and just went up before coming back down to the ground. Cas quickly dived after it when he realized Dan had not enchanted this particular object. He caught it quickly in his hand and smiled down at Dan to show he caught it. Dan nodded approvingly before tossing one enchanted golf ball in to the air.

Much similar to how a real snitch works, but slower, the golf ball circled Cas for a moment before zooming off. Castiel immediately followed it, keeping his eyes attached to the fast moving object. After two or three tries, Cas caught the golf ball in his hand.

This went on for a bit, Dan tossing faster and faster moving objects. On about the fourth ball, Castiel caught the moving object with only one try and no mistakes. 

Clapping came from down below and Cas looked to see that Charlie and Dean were standing behind Dan and watching Cas practice. The deva’s face went pink. 

Dan threw another, faster golf ball into the air. This one zipped around rather quickly. Cas focused on the blur that was moving in front of him and chased it, more focused than ever. He caught the golf ball in less than twenty seconds. 

The Quidditch captain clapped. “That was your fastest yet, good job Castiel.” 

Cas smiled and continued to chase after a few more charmed golf balls before Dan finally called him down, saying that this had been more than enough practice for now. Dan grinned at Castiel, this year, the Hufflepuffs were sure to win most of the Quidditch games with Cas on their team. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the short chapter. 
> 
> And I cannot tell you how excited I got when I realized Meg and Maze could be a ship! I may or may not have even created a short edit for them haha. Megzikeen anyone? 
> 
> Also, it’s August 20th today, so happy birthday Misha Collins!


	6. The Hiding

Dean walked through the halls of Hogwarts with his new friends. Charlie was talking on and on to Cas about his new Quidditch position and Cas was quietly listening to her ramble. Meg had run off with Maze and a couple other Slytherin girls after lunch was finished, so it was just the three of them. 

The Winchester was currently thinking about what he could write back in response to his younger brother's letter. In the honest truth, Dean was having a hard time adjusting to his new life at Hogwarts, without his brother. Though he did his absolute best not to show it. 

Dean had always tried to be strong for Sammy. He had to be growing up with their father. Dean tried to do his best to show Sam that he was strong, that they could make it through whatever bad times lay ahead. And then the good times came rolling along, and Dean didn't have to lie anymore. But for some reason, he kept up the facade that Dean was so emotionally strong when he wasn't. 

"I'm going to go back to the Gryffindor common room, my brother'll be expecting a letter back," Dean says before breaking away from his friends and heading up to the Gryffindor common room. 

The Gryffindor common room lay on the opposite side of the school that Dean and his friends had just been walking through, so it took the boy a bit of time to finally arrive at the common room. 

Once inside, Dean didn't stop to visit with the other Gryffindors, instead heading up to his room to get some paper and a writing utensil. 

Amendiel sat on his bed, a book in his lap when Dean entered their shared room. The boy looked up as Dean came walking in and gave the other wizard a small smile. Dean responded with an even smaller smile. 

With some paper ready, Dean sat down on his bed and started to write the letter to his brother. 

' _Sammy,_

_Hey, bud. School's been great so far. I got sorted into Gryffindor and I'm sharing a room with four other people. Hogwarts is a really beautiful place, it's even more amazing than Bobby described in his stories. I haven't had Bobby's class yet, but I'll have it tomorrow. It's only the first day here._

_And, yes, I've made some friends already. There's Charlie, Castiel and Meg. They're all from different Hogwarts houses, though, so I can't see them a lot._

_Charlie is really sweet. She's muggle born and seems to have quite the knowledge on muggle technology. Apparently she plays pretend games on some sort of line with people she doesn't even know! She's a Hufflepuff._

_There's Meg, who is a Slytherin. Meg's like one of those people who you dislike but can also find a way to live with. Though Meg seems to have a lot of friends in her own house already, so I probably won't be seeing much of her._

_And then there's Castiel. Cas is really cool. He's in Hufflepuff and actually made the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and it's only the first day! No one has joined the Quidditch team in their first year since Harry Potter! And before Potter, no one for over a hundred years! I have to admit I'm a little jealous of him, but hopefully I'll get onto the Gryffindor team in my later years at Hogwarts. Cas also has a lot of siblings. Two of which are older and already here at school. But he has a brother who is the same age as you! You'll probably be in the same year as Cas' younger brother. His name's Gabriel._

_Anyway, the first day of classes has gone well. And the food is really good. There's a lot of food. And a lot of pie! You know how I love my pie. Bobby seems good, I'll probably talk to him tomorrow after class. Give him an update on "how my idijit life at Hogwarts" has been going._

_I'll definitely be home for the holidays! You think I wouldn't come home and visit? I'm offended! And who knows? Maybe I will bring a friend along._

_I should probably get back to school. Send Ellen my love._

_\- Dean_ ' 

The Winchester finished up writing his letter. He looked over his work and nodded, satisfied. Amendiel watched from his bed as Dean rushed out of the room. 

Dean left the Gryffindor common room and made his way over to one of the school towers and to the owlery where he could give his letter to Dr. Whoo and send it to Sam. It took about eight minutes for the young wizard to arrive at the owlery. Dr. Whoo was waiting from him, like the owl knew that Dean would be coming to him with a letter for his beloved brother. 

With some thread, Dean tied his letter to the leg of his owl. "You know where to take this," Dean whispered to his owl, petting his feathers. With a soft coo, Dr. Whoo flew into the air and was soon out of sight with Dean's letter. Dean smiled a bit to himself as he watched his owl go. Only a few months until the holiday break and he can see Sam. Only a few months. 

With nothing much more to do as none of the teachers gave homework yet, Dean decided to go try to find his friends to see what they were up to. He doubted that they were still roaming the halls. As it was just Charlie and Cas, it was likely they went back to the Hufflepuff common room. But Dean had to look. 

So, Dean travelled through the halls of Hogwarts on a journey to find his friends. It was only then did Dean realize how big the whole school actually was. There were so many places to hide and to visit, the options were endless and the magic was non-stop. 

On his search for his small friend group, Dean passed about four ghosts who were all talking cheerfully. He shivered, accidentally walking through an arm of one of the ghosts. Sam would've found the ghosts so exciting and cool. Dean just finds them weird. 

Dean walked past the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom before doing a double-take and peaking his head in through the door. Cas stood there, discussing something that seemed to be very... emotional with Professor Lupin. 

Thinking they couldn't possibly be much longer, Dean decided to walk a few paces away from the door (as to not eavesdrop on whatever the hell they were talking about) and leaned against the wall, waiting for Cas to finish his conversation. 

Inside the classroom, Castiel's anxiety was going through the roof and Lupin could tell. A hand ran through Cas' short black hair. "I'm not going to be able to live like this for the next seven years, Professor. For you, it's once every month. For me, it's every day. And I understand that you had your challenges as a kid, but it's really hard for me. And I... I just don't know what to do." 

Lupin listened to Castiel's rant. "If it is really bothering you, I can get the headmistress and ask for a private room?" He suggested when Cas took a breath. 

Cas shook his head, "I appreciate the offer but I don't think that would help much. I've barely spent time in my room and I don't think I'll spend a lot of time in there. And then there's the rest of the day. I can't stretch at all... I'm sorry for pushing this onto you, Professor." 

"It's okay, Castiel. If I had someone I could talk to when I was your age, it would've be so much easier. And maybe I'll find something that will help you with this whole situation. It will get easier in time, I know it." Lupin gives him a smile. 

Cas gives a small smile in return. 

"And, Novak," Lupin stopped Cas. "You do know about the four-house sleepover, right? All four houses are welcome to come to the Great Hall for the night. It happens once a week on Saturday. Might brighten up your mood with that Gryffindor boy of yours." Lupin smirks. 

The young wizard shakes his head. "Four house sleepover," he repeated, more to himself than his teacher. "Thanks, Professor Lupin."

"Of course," Lupin smiles.

Cas walks out of the classroom only to get scared shitless when Dean stepped out from behind him and greeted him. Dean laughs at him and Cas frowns.

"What- did you- how much did you hear?" Cas asks, eyes wide and his face suddenly nervous. 

Dean put his hands up in surrender. "No, I didn't hear anything. I saw you in there like two minutes ago. I was looking for you and Charlie so I decided to wait out here. I didn't hear a word." 

Cas let out a sigh. "Okay. Sorry for reacting like that, it's just... never mind." He was quiet for a moment. "Charlie's outside talking to some Ravenclaw named Dorothy. They were outside reading some books when I left. I think Charlie should still be there." 

The Winchester nodded. "Lead the way." 

As Cas led the way towards the outside of the school, Dean watched him from a few steps behind. Cas was almost definitely hiding something. But what? And why? So many questions popped into Dean's head because he could feel that the pure-blood wasn't telling the truth, or at least, the whole truth. 

The pair of boys arrived outside and just like Cas had said, Charlie was outside talking to a brown-haired girl and they seemed rather close already. They walked up to Charlie and Dorothy and sat down. When they arrived, Dorothy looked up at them, before making some excuse and leaving. Apparently she didn't want to talk to Dean or Cas. 

Charlie threw her arms up at them in a what-was-that-for kind of way. "C'mon, I was just getting to know her!" Charlie pouted at them. 

"You have seven years to do that, Charlie. I think you'll have time for another try," Dean said, making himself comfortable on the school grass. 

Charlie huffed. She quickly changed the subject, though. "Dorothy was telling me about this house sleepover thing where we all can go into the Great Hall and apparently there are sleeping bags laid out for us to sleep in. And it sounds fun. Would you guys be down to joining?" 

"I am down," Cas replied rather quickly. He had been wanting to bring up the same subject but Charlie best him to it and he was totally fine with that. 

Dean shrugged, "sure." 

—

It was around eight o'clock on Saturday that the Great Hall changed it's set up. The first week of school had gone moderately well. There were loads of struggles, sure, but each student was adapting. All the tables previously in the Great Hall had all disappeared and were replaced with hundreds of sleeping bags for students to take. 

Dean, Cas, Charlie and now Dorothy, Meg and Maze all were ready to claim their sleeping bags the moment the set-up changed. They all got into sleeping bags in the far corner so they could discuss things away from everyone else. They were the first to arrive but they didn't give a damn. 

For the first hour or so, they had the Great Hall all to themselves. They talked loudly and laughed as loud and as long as they wanted. 

A teacher seemed to be on "child duty" and about every half an hour, that teacher would get switched. 

The second teacher to have this job was Bobby. As there were no other students yet in the Great Hall, the professor went over and talked with his adopted son and his new friends. Though, Bobby didn't ask any personal questions to Dean as to not embarrass the boy. But Bobby did take notice to the glances his boy threw Cas' way and took note of that. 

The next students to arrive walked over to the corner kids and got into sleeping bags next to them. Both students knew Maze. The first kid introduced himself as Lucifer Morningstar, a Third year Gryffindor. Castiel commented that Morningstar was his older brother's "archenemy" for having the same name. Morningstar laughed at that. The second kid was Chloe Decker, the first year who was also in Gryffindor. 

Slowly, more and more students poured into the Great Hall. Bobby left the kids alone early on and eventually left his shift. 

Before long, about half of the sleeping bags were taken up. The Great Hall was dark, the ceiling reflecting the beautiful, starry sky above all of the students. 

Around 11:00, Dean, Charlie, Meg, Chloe, Lucifer, Cas, Maze and Dorothy decided to play Would You Rather because that's a game one plays at 11:00. In a whispered voice, of course, the game started. Mazikeen started. 

"Decker," Maze challenged quietly, "would you rather be a muggle or a squib?" 

Chloe thought for a moment. "Muggle." She looked around at the same ground. "Charlie, would you rather loose the ability to see or the ability to hear?" 

"I'd loose the ability to hear," some fifth year kid hissed from beside them, "so then I wouldn't have to listen to your stupid game." 

The group ignored the kid. "The ability to hear," Charlie replies eventually. "Winchester! Would you rather kiss a boy or kiss a girl?" 

Dean glared daggers at Charlie. "Both." 

Charlie wagged her finger at him. "Nah ah. The key word is 'or'." 

With a split second glance at Cas, Dean replies, "a boy." 

Charlie sat up tall in her sleeping bag. Her arms (that were not in the sleeping bag) flicked, like the way one would do if they thought they were about to do something funny. 

//A/N: Looking at you, Ackles\\\

"Why don't you do it then?" Charlie challenged, a spark in her eye. 

Even in the dark, Charlie and everyone else could tell Dean was blushing. 

"I... fine, Bradbury, you win. Who should I kiss?" Dean asks, finally giving in to Charlie's magical powers of convincing people. 

Charlie thought for a moment. She knew exactly who she wanted Dean to kiss, she was just teasing him with the pause. "Novak. I think you should kiss Cas." Charlie's eyes were flaring red, evil. Or at least, to Dean they were. 

Dean huffed and turned to Cas' dark figure. "Cas, is that okay? I'll only do it if it's okay with you." Dean said quietly. 

Cas was silent for a moment. Chloe actually thought he was asleep for a second. Finally, the pure-blood nodded, "go ahead." 

The Winchester shifted forward, his sleeping bag ruffling against the floor as he moved. Slowly, he pecked Cas' lips. It was small and awkward for both of them. But Dean did it. 

Charlie booed but shrugged, thinking that was the best she was going to get. 

Cas shot up, suddenly standing up. "I'll be right back," he said quietly to his friends. Cas made his way through the jumble of sleeping students, doing his absolute best not to step on anyone. On his way out of the Great Hall, he passed Professor Lupin, who (very) luckily for Cas was doing his turn watching the students. 

"Something's wrong," Cas whispered to his teacher, his voice urgent. "Something is really wrong." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That chapter... did not end up the way I thought it would. The whole “would you rather” stuff didn’t come to me until I was in the middle of writing. As did the peck. So we’ll see where this takes us. 
> 
> Also, no, the whole seven years at Hogwarts will not be this much in detail. I am planning on doing a whole load of time skips, so just wait.  
> Hopefully, the next chapters will be a bit longer. It’s so funny cause I’m used to Wattpad where the stories are usually shown as longer but here, I feel like they are shown as shorter! Each chapter is like 2000 words long, but it feels like it’s only 800 words long. And I thought adapting to Wattpad length was hard...
> 
> And, it’s currently 3:45 in the morning, so I apologize for any mistakes.  
> Sleep who?


	7. The New Change

//Trigger warning: (past) abuse, self-abuse/harm.\\\ 

Dean and the rest of the group watched as Castiel quickly walked off and disappeared into the outside halls of Hogwarts. The group was silent for a moment, a bit confused and mostly guilty for making Cas go through that. 

"Oops," Charlie whispered quietly. The witch was biting her lip. She felt had. She had been the one who forced Dean to kiss Cas without thinking of how Cas might react. 

"And now you've scared the kid off," Maze muttered. 

Not only did Dean feel guilty like the others, but he was also a bit upset. Had Cas not liked their small kiss? It didn't mean anything at all! Though Dean would never admit that he _wanted_ to be dared to kiss Cas. He did not think his first kiss with a boy would end up like that. 

Outside of the Great Hall, Cas walked quickly with Professor Lupin. The boy's arms were rapped around himself in a self-hug. His nails were digging deeply into his skin as he walked. So deeply that a small trickle of blood appeared. Realizing, Cas loosened his grip and wiped the blood away. 

Cas had no idea what was going on. But whatever was happening, it was bad. And painful. So very painful. 

The teacher and his student arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Lupin led Cas to his office. "What's going on?" Lupin asks Cas, a bit confused but more worried. 

Castiel looked up from the floor and locked eyes with the Professor. "Wings," was all Cas managed to get out through his pain. The terrible feeling in Cas' back was getting worse and worse each second. 

Lupin frowned, trying to decided what to do to help his poor student. "Do you think you can last through the pain a bit longer? Long enough for me to fetch Professor Fitzgerald. He should know the most about whatever is happening with your wings. Unless you don't want me to tell him?" He let Cas decide. 

"Go," Cas breathed out. 

The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher nodded before walking out of his office to find the Care of Magical Creatures Professor. Before leaving, Lupin took a quick glance at the young boy who looked like he was in so much pain. 

The professor walked rather speedily through the halls of Hogwarts. He eventually made it to the outside. Briefly, he checked the sky. He already knew the full moon didn't come for a couple more weeks, but he had to look. 

Garth's- previously the other Hogwarts caretaker, Hagrid's- hut had a couple lights on, so Lupin assumed his fellow teacher was awake. Lupin went up to the hut door and knocked three times in a fast pattern. 

Garth appeared at the door a few moments later, looking tired but not looking as if he had just woken up. "Wassup, Remus?" Garth asked, taking in Lupin's worried expression. 

"There's a student, Castiel Novak, he's a deva and his wings are in a lot of pain right now for some reason. I don't know what's going on with him, but I thought that perhaps you would have an idea?" Lupin explained rather quickly.

Garth nodded immediately. "Show me to him, there's no time to waste. A deva's wings can be very fragile if not taken care of properly." 

Lupin began to walk back to the castle to show Garth to his office where Cas should still be. Garth walked along side Lupin. The pair of teachers made their way up to the school and traveled along the halls silently. 

They eventually arrived back at Lupin's office and the sight inside was a bit different from when Lupin left. Castiel now had his shirt and uniform off, his top side showing. He still had his pants on, though. His wings were out and his back looked red, swollen. The young boy stood bent over above Lupin's desk, his arms below him and his hands resting on the table. 

"Oh, dear," Garth whispered quietly at seeing Cas' state. 

Garth walked slowly over to Cas, going over to the boy's side to notify him that he was there. Cas looked up at Garth when he spotted him. His wings, on instinct, pulled close to Cas' back, which made the boy wince in pain. 

"May I take a look at your wings?" Garth asks him softly. 

Cas nodded and tried to relax his wings, but the pain was too much to bare so he just kept as still as he could. 

Garth moved so he was standing behind Cas and looked over his wings. Garth's hand moved so his hand was only a few inches away from Cas' dark wings. His hand moved down, staying close to the boy's wing but not touching it. Garth's eyes followed his hand as he examined the wings. 

Lupin stood and watched from afar, his arms crossed and his face filled with concern. 

As Garth looked down Castiel's two wings, a frown formed upon his lips. Garth decided to speak, asking the question that was on his mind. "Who did this to you?" He asked in a quiet voice. 

Cas didn't look back at him, he didn't even respond. 

Lupin took a step towards Garth and Cas, trying to find what Garth was talking about. "Did what? Who did what to Cas?" 

Garth glanced over at Lupin. "There... there are marks, scars, on this boy's wings. The marks are all old, so whatever happened, happened a long time ago. I'm no expert, but they look like a blade or a sharp piece of glass cut them." Garth paused. "Castiel, did you do this to yourself?" 

The boy could only nod. "S-some of it," Cas said finally. His voice cracked in the middle of the sentence. He was still in pain and Garth still hadn't figured out why he was in pain, only that Cas had a tough few years of his life. 

Garth frowned again. He continued looking over Cas' wings, trying to find why the boy was in pain, but only finding more and more scars. 

Garth was an animal lover. It was the reason he took this job when the guy the teachers offered it to- Charlie Weasley- declined. He loved kids too. He absolutely hated when animals got abused. And hated it even more when children were treated like animals and got abused. It just angered him so much. But right now, he was abusing this poor kid by not finding whatever was causing the deva's pain. 

Then a thought hit Garth. “May I move your wings a little bit?” Garth asks Cas softly. He had an idea of what could be happening and it seemed like his idea was matching up with everything that was happening, he just needed to see proof. Garth had never dealt with a deva in real life, he had only read about them in books. But he had read lots about them, so he knew quite a bit.

Castiel nodded in response. The wizard’s hands turned to fists when Garth started to carefully move his wings and his feathers.

A moment later, Garth almost cheered. He stood up, now knowing what was going on with Cas and why his wings hurt so much.

“I know what’s going on!” He announced, proudly.

Lupin took yet another step closer, to hear out what Garth had to say about what was happening.

“You, my friend, are a deva,” Garth started.

Cas’ head turned so he could glare at Garth with a ‘no-shit’ look.

“Now, devas are a very peculiar sub-species of humans. Just like werewolves-” Garth’s wife is a werewolf- “devas have mates in life. Their subconscious mind finds someone who is compatible enough to be their mate and latches on to that person, that person then becomes in their mate. It most situations, for devas, after they set their sights on a mate, they have to do everything they could usually do with any other person that involves their wings with their mate or else it won’t work. For instance, cleaning and preening your wings will not work unless it’s your mate doing it. Another thing is, after getting a mate, the deva will go into a sort of heat. Though, that only happens when one is of-age, so you won’t have to worry about that.” 

Garth continued, “however, there is another situation where a mate will just pop up out of thin air. These mates are considered true mates. And when a deva finds their true mate, they go through a change. A change that brings them to their final form. A final form for devas, are rare, but they happen. When this happens, the deva reaches their full strength their your wings.” 

“What is happening to you, Novak,” Garth went on, “is you are changing into your final form. Your wings will grow as will another one or two pairs of wings. With the way your wings are growing, I would say you’ll only have two sets of wings. You are a seraphimal-deva, which is better known as a seraphim or a seraph. It’s named after a subspecies of angels, who in some parts of the world’s religious population, have two sets of wings.” 

Garth pauses. “I have to apologize because the worst part of the pain hasn’t arrived yet. Your second pair of wings is only breaking through at the moment, it will get worse when both sets of wings start to grow.”

The Care of Magical Creatures professor turned to Lupin. “We’ll have to get him to the hospital wing before his second set of wings breaks through his skin and both sets start growing. It’ll be a painful day or two, but some medicine from there might help.” 

Lupin nods. “Wait, I should probably get something before we go.” The Professor disappears into personal chambers to grab something. When he walks out, he has something in his arms. He hands it to Cas, “here, put this on.” 

Cas takes the thing from Lupin and unfolds it. Cas looks at it for a moment before looking over at Lupin and thanks him. The cursed deva slips on the trenchcoat that Lupin had just given him. And it fit, covering up his wings, without it being too painful. 

“That trenchcoat will not be destroyed permanently. It may rip, get dirty and get old, but it will always rebuild itself, brand new as before,” Lupin explains. 

Garth and Lupin then led Cas out into the halls of the great wizarding school to get to the hospital wing. Cas had the trench-coat pulled tightly around him, so his bare chest would not show. 

The trio eventually arrived at the hospital wing and Cas slowed his pace so he was farther behind the two teachers. Professor Lupin walked over to the Hogwarts school nurse and briefly explained the current situation. The school nurse nodded and made her way over to Castiel to check how he was doing. 

Cas was gripping the sleeves of his trench coat tightly, in fists. His jaw was clenched and he was still on obvious pain. 

The nurse got Castiel to a bed in the corner of the hospital wing so if another student were to come along sick, she would easily be able to put a divider up to hide him. The nurse got some medicine and brought it over to Cas. 

“Drink this so you will sleep through the pain and the night. Tomorrow, I’ll give you some more pain medicines for when you wake. But Professor Fitzgerald tells me you will have to be awake for most of tomorrow so you can successfully.. grow strong.” 

She handed Cas a spoon full of nasty looking medicine. Cas took a sharp breath before taking the spoon and swallowing the whole thing. He was quickly off to sleep. When he was asleep, the nurse took off his trench-coat and flipped him over so she could examine the wings for herself. Both Lupin and Garth stood behind her, watching. 

The nursed turned back to the two teachers. “Garth, sweetie, I’m going to ask you to stay for the night, just so I know that I’m doing everything right and that everything in the growth is going smoothly. Remus, you can go and sleep now, if you would like.” The nurse excused Lupin. She and Garth sat quietly, watching the very slow process of Castiel’s second set of wings grow. 

~ 

“Get up, get up. Come on, Castiel, you slept in late again! Pops is certainly not going to be happy! He’s already got into a fight with Luci.” His younger brother, Gabe, stood over Cas. “Wake up, wake up!” 

Cas got up out of his bed, with a groan. Panic started to kick in as Cas realized that Gabe was right, his father is going to be pissed! The deva quickly got dressed. His black, smaller-than-in-the-present wings appeared on his back after he pulled his shirt on. 

Gabe looked over at him. His younger brother had to only be five at the time. “Why do you keep those out?” He asked. “Pops doesn’t like them one bit.” 

“I know...” Cas sighed and made his wings disappear. 

Gabe and Cas quickly went downstairs, both brothers dreading their father’s rage when they appeared. And just like they suspected, just like always, their dad was mad. Lucifer was currently in a fight with him, so he didn’t pay much attention to Cas and Gabe. 

The pair of brothers joined their other siblings at the breakfast table after making their own, quick breakfast of cereal. Michael wasn’t there, it was Michael’s first year at Hogwarts. But everyone else was there. 

After finishing their breakfasts, the group of kids went on with their days, doing their chores and taking care of their house while their father bitched, yelled at them and drank. 

When Cas was about half way down with his chores, his father called him out into the television room when he sat with a beer in hand and the tv on. Cas walked in, “yes, father?” He asks. 

Their father glared up at his boy. “You know what to do, boy. Turn around.” Their dad leaned over to the table and picked up a pocket knife. He clicked it open. “I want to see the reason your mother left. I want to see your monster side.” 

And it went on like that for another few months. That same scenario had been happening for the past six years. But it stopped when Michael- because of his friends forcing him to do so- threatened to call the police and rat him out for harming one of his own boys. 

It was mainly Cas that got harmed. His brothers would try to step in occasionally but it wouldn’t end well. And their father would just keep doing it. 

And as for Cas, for the first seven-eight years of his life, he believed the things his father said. That he was a monster for having wings. That he was a disgusting little thing responsible for all of his family’s troubles. That he was a failure. 

Sometimes, even to this day, those terrible words would float around Cas’ head and the poor kid would do his best to stop those thoughts, but it sometimes just wouldn’t work. 

~

Castiel woke up later that morning to feel that the pain hadn’t gone away. In fact, it had gotten worse, just like Garth had said. 

“Hello, dear,” the school nursed greeted him. She took out some other medicine. “Here, this will help with the pain.” 

Cas took the medicine, it didn’t taste as bad as the one the night before, but it still didn’t taste good. Almost immediately, the pain was less intense. 

Over the next day or so, Cas stayed in the hospital wing. Professor Lupin had, by now, told his friends where he was so they wouldn’t worry. But Castiel wasn’t allowed to have friends. Nor was he allowed to put his wings away from the time being. Lucky for him, no other students came into the hospital wing, so he didn't have to hide. 

At the end of the day, Castiel was told to stand up out of bed and stretch his wings. 

So, Cas stood up, first stretching his legs as he had not gotten up much throughout the day. His wings were still for a moment before stretching up and out. His original set of wings were now at least two feet longer on each side. And he had a second set of wings too. His second set was about half the length of his original wings, but the same color and just as beautiful. 

And although the school nurse offered to heal up Cas’ scars, the cursed pure-blood wouldn’t let her touch them. It’s not that he _liked_ them, no, he hated them. He just couldn’t bare the feeling of someone else touching the marks of where his father previously carved into his wings. 

The school nurse, as well as Garth and Lupin, approved of Cas’ wing growth. However, she told him that he should probably stay another night with his wings out so he could get used to the feeling. She did say that the next day, Cas could have visitors come over, if he wanted. 

Cas only requested one person to visit. But instead, he got two visitors. 

The first visitor came quite early in the morning. It was sometime after breakfast had ended. This visitor was quite unexpected. And she even asked for Cas to not hide his wings. 

Cas wasn’t expecting Professor McGonagall to show up. He wasn’t sure if he should feel relaxed or confused. So he just stayed quiet. 

Headmistress McGonagall sat down at the edge of Cas’ hospital bed and looked over at the cursed deva with a sad look in her eye. 

“You know, when your brother Michael was in his first year, he came to me to talk. And he told me everything that had been happening. He didn’t know who else to tell, so he came to me. I wasn’t upset about it, more glad that he did talk to someone about it. He told me how his life back home was. He told me about his loving little brother who was cursed to be different from everyone else. His brother that was too nice to everyone even when he was treated terribly in return because of something he never did. I told him that it had always been in his hands to do something to help his little brother. And that’s what he did.” The headmistress looked at Castiel. 

“Right now, I’m asking you for one thing. I know it is unfair because of what has happened in the last day or so, but I still think I should ask. I want you to try to be brave enough to talk to someone. Talk about your thoughts and your life, the good parts and the bad parts. Castiel, what I’m asking you to do, is trust someone. There’s a good chance that this person will listen and care. All you have to do is try.” 

With few more words, McGonagall hung around for another minute or so before getting up and leaving. 

Cas thought about what she said and would continue to think about her words. Trust someone. Castiel could do that. 

Right? 

His second guest came a little bit later. Cas was prepared for when he arrived. He had the trench-coat on over his hospital wing shirt. His new trench-coat worked really well and suited him even better. His wings were well hidden underneath it. 

Dean came into the hospital wing and his face broke into a large grin when he saw Cas in the corner. The Winchester walked over to his friend and greeted him. “Hey, bud. How are you doing?” 

“I am doing well, Dean, thank you. And I apologize for leaving during the middle of the house sleepover, especially after what had just happened. My curent situation had nothing to do with what happened,” Cas said. 

Dean nods with a smile. “What is your ‘current situation’ anyways? Lupin wouldn’t tell me what happened.” 

Cas paused for a moment. “I think it was just some bad sickness from being too stressed out.” He shrugs, trying to play casual. “It isn’t contagious anymore, do not worry.” 

The half-blood smiles. “I wouldn’t care if I got sick, I get to see you.” 

“Is that a flirtation?” Cas asks jokingly. 

Dean chuckles, his cheeks gaining the softest bit of pink. “No, m’fraid it’s not.” 

Cas smiles a bit. 

The pair of them talked for a bit, catching up on what Cas had missed. Dean kept mentioning how Cas was lucky as he got to skip classes because he was sick. The Winchester jokingly complained about how everything is terrible and school sucks when they both know it’s not that bad overall. 

Cas couldn’t help but feel his wings flutter each time Dean laughed. And who knows? Maybe Dean will be the first person Cas will truly trust. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That chapter was fun and painful to write. 
> 
> Time skips coming soon ^v^


	8. The Boggart

It was now a few days before October 31 and Halloween. By now, Cas had gotten used to his new wings, though they did get sore more often than not. Cas had been struggling. His wings would no longer stay clean now. Apparently only his "mate" could clean them and they would stay clean. That was very hard to go on with, but Cas managed. 

But the deva didn't know how much longer he could last without him tearing all of his feathers out. His wings hurt and they itched, and there was really nothing he could do about it because he wasn't his own mate. To add to it all, Cas didn't really know who is mate was. Sure, he had an idea, but he didn't want to go see through with his idea, in fear that the suspected mate would hate him. 

Besides the whole mate thing, Cas was doing pretty well in school. The classes were pretty easy so far and Castiel was doing well in all of them. His friend group had stayed strong. Dean, Charlie, Meg, Maze, Chloe and Lucifer Morningstar, with Dorothy occasionally dropping by. 

Lucifer Novak would constantly send Cas glares for befriending his sworn archenemy. Although Morningstar said he had no conflict with the other Lucifer. 

About once a week, Michael would check in on Cas to make sure his younger brother was doing well with both school and his secret. Each time, Castiel would respond the same, saying that he was doing just fine and he didn't need Michael to worry about him. But Michael kept checking in, and Cas, honestly, didn't mind it, knowing that he had a good older brother at his side who cared enough to check in on him once a week. 

Dean was doing pretty well with school as well. He definitely wasn't the top of all his classes, but he wasn't at the bottom, instead somewhere in the middle. The Winchester did miss his younger brother more and more everyday. He was secretly counting down the days until Christmas break, and whenever he would receive a letter from Sam, he would write back as quickly as he could. 

The two boys walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom together. Instead of the regular setup inside, the desks were all pushed to the side of the room and in the center of the classroom, a teacher's desk that wasn't Lupin's was there. 

The students who had already arrived stood gathered in a group in front of the random teacher's desk. Lupin wasn't yet in the classroom, he was probably in his office preparing something for the upcoming class. 

Dean and Cas joined the gathered group of students, looking as confused as everyone else. None of the students knew what the class plan for today was nor what Lupin was planning to put them all through. 

"What do you think we'll be doing this class?" Dean asks his friend. "Because last class was full on weird but super fun." 

The last class of Defense Against the Dark Arts, they got to create their own, fake, curse and explain what the curse does, what it helps with and what the reverse charm is. It had been pretty fun, because it seems a lot of students in this class have very creative minds. 

Cas shrugged. "I don't know what this class will bring. But I hope it's something good. With that desk, who knows what this class will bring." 

The students discussed quietly between themselves as time ticked on. The time for class to start passed before, finally, Lupin came out of his office and came over to his students. "Sorry for the wait, kids. I had to make sure a few things were in order before we start. Usually, this lesson doesn't come until third year, but I decided to have a lesson change." Lupin explained why he had been late. 

"Right!" Lupin clapped his hands together. "Let's get started, shall we? Now, I'm sure you all are wondering why I borrowed Professor Moseley's desk. And I did borrow it for a certain reason." Lupin paused for dramatic effect. "Inside of this desk, there is a boggart. Now boggarts can be tricky little devils. This is because they take form of whatever we fear most when it faces us. However, they can be repelled with just one simple charm. The incantation for this little spell is 'riddikulus'. Now, to really over throw a boggart, you need to have laughter. So when you cast this spell, picture something you find genuinely amusing and that boggart should change into what you picture." 

The students all nodded, understanding their instructions. 

"Good. Now, everyone get into a line and we'll start. Remember, it isn't real and everyone has their fears," Lupin reminds them as the students shuffle to get into a straight line. 

Cas got in line behind Dean, the pair stood towards the end of the line so they would have to wait a bit for their turn to come. Cas, was honestly, super worried. What if this boggart revealed all his secrets? No, Cas couldn't think about that right now. If he did, then the boggart might become that particular fear. Right now, Castiel just tried to focus on finding something that was truly amusing to him. 

The first student in line stepped up as the boggart was released by Professor Lupin. There was a silence and stillness throughout the classroom. Before a giant, very intimidating snake appeared out of mid-air. The snake was decorated with brown spots and had blue skin. It's pink tongue stuck out and it hissed at the group of kids in front of it. 

"Now!" Lupin called, snapping the student out of the frozen trance of fear she was in. 

The student shook herself and took a breath before raising her wand up to the snake and shouting, "riddikulus!" Immediately, the snake changed to a pink worm on a string that was flopping about. The classroom was filled with laughter. 

Lupin clapped, "good job! Next!" He called the next student up. "Go ahead, James. It can't hurt you if you do spell." 

James stepped up to where the girl before him had stood. He looked up at the pink worm, the ghost of a smile fading on his face. The pink worm on a string stopped when James stepped up to it. After a moment, the worm on a string shifted and changed to a large line of blazing fire. 

James stepped back from the fire, his eyes wide. The kid managed to pull himself together. "Riddikulus," James said shakily. Nothing changed so he said it again. "Riddikulus!" He cried. The flames changed into a dancing fire extinguisher with a very weird, cartoon-like face. Once again, the class started laughing at the silly sight. 

"Good, very good!" 

The next student stepped up. The boggart turned into a big, fat germ. The student squirmed when he saw it and quickly changed it into a bunch of bubbles and a rubber ducky. 

As the line went on, the boggart was turned into multiple things. A very evil looking dentist to a bubblegum bird that flew around. A vicious dog to a small, fluffy kitten. A small cyclone to a weird looking frog face (the muggles know it as Pepe the Frog, the meme). 

Eventually, it came Dean's turn. Hesitantly, Dean stepped up to the boggart. The boggart, having previously taken form of farting pig, looked at Dean for a few seconds before changing. The boggart changed into the form of a younger boy, laying dead on the floor. 

Dean froze in his place, seeing the boy. It wasn't until Dean felt a soft hand on his shoulder, that he raised his wand and cast the spell, looking away from the body of his younger brother. The boggart changed into a clown getting pied in the face. Dean turned to look at Cas, who had a sincere look on his face. Dean stepped out of line and wordlessly walked to the back of the line. 

And then it was Castiel's turn. The pure-blood glanced over at Lupin, who nodded encouragingly. Cas took a breath and faced the boggart. The boggart changed into a group of people, just standing there in front of Cas, all saying the same thing at different times. The word "monster" was repeated from all of the people within the group. Cas was about to raise his wand when he saw the all too familiar face of Dean standing in the center of the group. Cas suddenly couldn't move a muscle. He just stood there, frozen. Cas didn't even realize hot tears had begun pouring down his face until Lupin stepped in front of him and made the boggart change into something funny. 

Lupin took Castiel by the shoulders and led him over to the side of the classroom. Dean quickly made his way over to them to make sure his best friend was alright. 

Lupin looked back at the rest of the class. "Alright, class dismissed. We can finish this lesson the next time we have class." Lupin excused all of his students and they all left, some of them staring at Cas as they walked by. 

Dean turned to Lupin, "I can talk to him, Professor," he offered. 

Lupin nodded and left the two boys alone, thinking it would probably be better if Dean talked to Cas instead of the teacher. 

With Lupin gone, Dean sat Cas down at one of the desks and pulled a chair up for himself to sit in. The two of them sat silently, Castiel with his eyes on the floor. After a few minutes, Dean decided he should try to find out if Cas wanted to talk about it or not. Dean moved so he could catch Cas' eye. 

Castiel looked up at Dean, his blue eyes watery and his face red. 

"Are you okay, bud?" Dean asked him softly. 

Cas shook his head. "No. No, Dean, I'm not okay." Cas' voice was even more rougher than usual. 

Dean frowned. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asks slowly. 

There was a small silence for Cas as he debated on if he should tell Dean everything or not. After some thinking, Cas decided to tell Dean part of it. If Dean reacted well, then Cas might tell him the second part later. 

"When I was born," Cas started quietly, "my mother... she didn't want me with the way I was. She thought I was a mistake. So... she left. My father was really upset that she left. And he, kind of, needed someone to blame. He took his blame out on me. H-he called me so many things that I still believe to be true today.” Cas paused. “And... he hurt me. Only me, not my brothers because I was to blame for my mother’s exit. He called me a monster. A-and with the way I am, I’m afraid other people, people I trust and care about will start calling me that too, if I ever show my real self...”

Dean listened to Cas speak. Cas practically just told him, what Dean thinks to be, his darkest secret. Dean was glad that Cas trusted him enough to tell him this. 

“You don’t have to feel like you have to hide around me, Cas. You’re my friend and nothing can change that,” Dean says. 

Cas smiles at Dean. “I know. Maybe one day, I’ll become brave enough to show you that part of me.” 

Dean nods. “Don’t feel like you have to show me this ‘side’ of yours, only do it when and if you feel comfortable enough, okay?” 

“Okay.” 

Dean stood up. “Time for lunch?” 

Cas stands up with him. “Yes, lunch.” 

The two friends walk out the classroom together, feeling comfortable with the other’s company.

Unknown to both of them, Lupin watches as they walk out of his classroom. A sad smile is on his face as he watches the pair of them. 

~

“Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to come back to class? You had to be pretty sick last night, because you sure as hell look it.” 

“Thanks, Sirius,” Lupin growls sarcastically. 

This was a while back, when Lupin was still in school. His first year, to be precise. Remus has been struggling with keeping his secret hidden. He didn’t know how long before his very nosy friends found out, or at least noticed the pattern of when he “got sick”. 

Sirius grins at Remus. 

James was serving detention for something he got into trouble for. Peter was in the library with a (very hot) Ravenclaw tutor to help him stay caught up with his classes. So it was just Remus and Sirius hanging around with nothing to do. 

The two friends were sitting in the pretty-much empty Gryffindor common room. They sat together on one of the red couches, side by side and near the fire. 

Sirius turned to Remus. His hand reached up and he carefully traced the claw mark scars on Lupin’s face. “Y’know, I’ve been wondering how you got these? Did you fall onto some weird ass gate when you were a kid or something?” 

Although Sirius joked, he did care about Remus and he was genuinely curious about the scars on his best friend’s face. 

Lupin pulled away from Sirius’ touch, a bit shyly. “I think they are some kind of weird type of birthmarks,” Remus lied. He got an awful feeling whenever he lied to Sirius, and he lied quite a bit so that feeling never fully went away. 

Sirius nodded. “Well, I think they are very cool birthmarks. They suit you well.” 

Remus smiled. “Thanks. Truthfully, I don’t like them much, they bring too much attention to my face. And they don’t exactly match my eyes.” 

“What are you talking about? They match your eyes perfectly!” Sirius says, grinning. 

“If only birthmarks could disappear..” Remus sighed. As of then, there was no way to hide or heal scars like the ones on Lupin’s face. 

“I don’t think it matters if you have them or not. You’re my friend, nothing can change that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, hey! Some actual MoonStar! Wow! 
> 
> Welp, another chapter completed. Next chapter will take place on Halloween day! 
> 
> I just watched Prisoner Of Azkaban earlier today so I had some inspiration for the boggart part. Also someone get me some headcanons where modern day muggle-borns print pictures of memes and take the memes to school with them to show their pure-blooded friends to confuse them.


	9. The Costume

//homemade mood board/aesthetic for this book. Just thought it would fit nicely.\\\

It was the night before Halloween. There was another four-house sleepover going on in the Great Hall. The Great Hall was already filled multiple fall decorations, including floating jack-o-lanterns, fake bats, and streamers. The pumpkins weren't currently lit, but there were plenty surrounding the hall.

Even though it was late, the kids in the Great Hall were discussing the events that would be happening tomorrow. There had been an idea to have an event very similar to a muggle Halloween party. Students were allowed to create their own costume for a celebration after the Halloween feast. Of course, doing this and dressing up was optional.

Charlie was super excited for this party and was talking about her costume options. There weren't many options as the students were allowed to buy costumes and had to use what they already had. Charlie being Charlie, she already had about ten costume ideas.

"Halloween likes the only day I can put on a cosplay and not be judged by anyone," Charlie explained to everyone who would listen.

Castiel and Dean lay separate from the others in their friend group. The pair of them lay facing the ceiling of the Great Hall, watching the stars that were shown above them. They stayed silent and just enjoyed each other's company.

"Will you be going to the costume party?" Dean asks, turning his head to face Cas.

Cas looked over at him. He thought for a moment. "I don't know, I don't really have anything that could pass as a costume. What about you?"

"I think I might go, I haven't decided yet. I could probably throw together a costume. But I won't go if you don't." Dean gave a small smile to his friend.

Cas smiled back at him. "I don't want to keep you from going," Cas tried reasoning.

Dean shook his head, "no no. You won't be."

"Then we'll go. Just don't disappear on me mid-way through, okay?" Cas decided for the both of them.

The Winchester chuckles. "I won't disappear on you. Promise. That means I'll have to make a costume by tomorrow evening..." Dean thought to himself for a moment, trying to come out with some outfit he could make out of the clothes he already has. "What will you being going as, Cas?"

Cas took time to think before getting an idea. "I know what I'll be dressed up as, but I'm going to keep it a secret." The pure-blood grinned.

"Alright. Then I'll keep my costume a secret from you two, and we'll surprise each other."

"Sounds like a plan."

The pair went silent again, going back to watching the stars above them.

Cas knew exactly what he was going to "dress up" as for tomorrow evening and he couldn't wait.

-

The next day, the costume party was the talk of the town. Just about everyone was talking about it. The majority of teachers had gotten into the Halloween/fall spirit and had decorated their classrooms in that theme. There were a few kids who didn't want to go to the costume party, but most of the kids did and were super all excited about it.

Cas had gotten a bit nervous about his decision for his costume, but he never changed his mind. He could actually be himself and no one would care or even notice. That's right, for his costume, Castiel was going to get out his wings. He wasn't going to judged one bit if he had his wings out! It was a perfect plan.

The last class of the day came along rather quickly. It was History of Magic with Professor Singer. Bobby had a few decorations up in his classroom, but not nearly as many as everyone else's classes.

Dean and Cas walked into Bobby's class together and sat down at their regular table. The Winchester gave a greeting smile to his adopted guardian and Bobby nodded back.

After all the students had arrived in the classroom and sat down, Bobby started the class.

"I know you idjits are excited for the feast and the costume party after, but there is only one more class so I want you all to concentrate and listen to me when I speak, okay? It's hard for you to listen on a regular day, just try." Bobby looked at his class and huffed before starting the lesson. "Wizards in Greece did not have the best tactics at staying hidden. Some of them went along and tried to confuse muggle citizens."

Bobby went on to explain about different wizards who succeeded in confusing muggle Greece citizens but their plan backfired when Greece muggles started a religion because of it. Some of the wizards found it amusing that the muggles started sacrificing and praying to them, so they continued tricking the muggles.

A few of the muggle-borns listened with a frown because of how they had been raised to know certain things as history but it had been a lie.

The class continued on with Bobby describing one witch who tried to find the ones causing all the confusion. He explained that this witch did catch a few people in the act but not nearly enough to stop them all.

After a while, the class ended. Half of the class was glad it was over while the other half was disappointed, having found the rebellious wizards in Ancient Greece quite interesting.

Dean and Cas met up with their friends and walked together towards the Great Hall. When they arrived at the Great Hall, they noticed that it was far more decorated than the night before.

There was a moment where the group of friends took in the sight of all the enchanted decorations. The fake bats had been turned real and were now flying around near the top of the ceiling, though not going close to any students or teachers below. The group found their usual seats at the Gryffindor table and sat down.

However, before they could start to wait for their meals to arrive, Michael The Prefect came over to them. "Hey, guys, I'm really sorry to do this but it's a rule when there is a feast that all students must sit with their own houses. Sorry again."

The group of friends all growled but obeyed Michael's orders and seperated to go to their own house table. Michael nodded and patted Dean's back before going back to his seat.

Charlie and Cas went back over to the Hufflepuff table. Charlie, muttering about how she sometimes hates rules. Cas sat down with the red-headed muggle born and waited for the okay to start eating.

McGonagall stood up at the Teacher's Table and gave a short, rather quick speech before she allowed the meal to start. Food appeared all over the tables when the headmistress sat down. Many of the foods were fall-themed but there were some regular meals for the kids who were picky and didn't like any of the festive foods.

Cas started his meal with his head slightly hunched over his plate. Charlie was talking to him and he was only half listening to her. The pure-blood ate his meal a bit quickly, he was too nervous for his costume to eat much, so he didn't take seconds. Cas felt eyes on him and he looked up to see Dean staring at him from across the room. When they made eye contact, Dean looked away and turned back to his food.

When McGonagall finished her speech, Dean just wanted the meal to be over. He hated not being able to talk with most of his friends. Sure, Chloe and Lucifer Morningstar we're both at his table, but they mostly stayed to themselves.

Dean sighs, and takes some food onto his plate when the meal appears. He eats quietly, thinking to himself. He knew what his costume for later was going to be. But he had no idea what Cas was going to do for his costume, and Dean was pretty excited to find out, because Cas seemed like the kind of person who could come up with amazing costumes in literal seconds.

The thought of Cas made Dean rethink what Cas had recently told him about his father. Dean hated how Cas' father treated the boy. It wasn't Cas' fault that his mother was gone! Cas had nothing to do with his mother's departure. And what kind of father calls his son a monster?! Castiel had later told Dean that the abuse had stopped a while ago, but now Dean didn't trust Cas' father one bit. In fact, Dean knew exactly who he was going to have over for Christmas break. Dean didn't want Cas to go back to the father that hated him because of something the poor boy never did.

Dean looked up and scanned the Hufflepuff table before spotting Cas. Cas sat hunched over his food. Well, now Dean knows why he's always so quiet. Just at that moment, Cas looked up and locked eyes with Dean. Dean blushed ever so slightly and looked away. At the Hufflepuff table, Cas shrugged and continued on with his meal.

When the majority of students had finished their meal, the food was replaced with dessert. And, oh wow, was there a lot of dessert. There were candy apples, bowls of candy bars, cupcakes, cake, crumbed Oreo that was in the design of a graveyard (some people call this dessert 'dirt' because of its appearance), candy corn stuck into chocolate pudding, chocolate-dipped marshmallows, triple mousse chocolate cake, cookies, and so much more. It all looked wonderful. And tasted even better.

The desserts were gone in mere minutes, they were so goof. Cas made note to thank the house elves for their hard work the next time he went passed the kitchen. Once every table was close to cleared, the desserts disappeared and one table at a time, the houses were excused.

Most of the students went back to their common rooms to get changed into their outfits for the costume party. Castiel went along with them, getting more and more nervous by the second. What if people noticed they were too real looking or that they were in fact attached to his back? Cas tried his best to put those thoughts away. He could worry about that if someone actually did find out. But not right now. 

Cas went to the common room with everyone else (of course, after briefly stopping and thanking the house elves for such a good meal). He told Charlie "see you in a bit" before going up to his room to get ready. In his room already, Adam and Benny were getting ready. It would seem that they were going too. The pair of them helped each other out with their costumes while Cas went over to his clothes and got out his trench-coat. 

Quickly after retrieving his trench-coat, Cas travelled to the bathroom to change. It was a shared bathroom, so Cas hid in the corner stall to change. Already inside the bathroom, some dude seemed to have stolen his sister's makeup set because he had it open and was covering his face with makeup to look like some sort of zombie. Cas nodded a greeting to the guy as he passed him. 

Cas went to the stall and changed out of his school uniform. He kept his white shirt on as well as his Hufflepuff tie and his school pants on but took off the rest. Cas slid on his trench-coat and pulled it tight over his body. With a roll of his shoulders, Cas' wings appeared. Both sets, four wings. Cas looked over his shoulder at them. He inhaled deeply and stepped out of the bathroom stall.

The guy doing the zombie makeup looked over at him, his jaw dropped. "Dude, that's a hella good costume," he commented. 

Cas smiled sheepishly, "thanks," he said quietly. 

Cas walked over to one of the mirrors and checked his reflection. For a moment, he stood staring at his wings with pure hatred in his eyes. But then that changed when he remembered his wings weren't the only thing that made him himself. 

Folding his wings up behind him, Cas turned to the boy next to him. "I hope the charm I put on them lasts," he said to cover up the fact that his wings are actually real. 

"Well, I wish you look because those things are super cool!" 

Feeling a bit more confident, Cas walked out of the bathroom, his wings folded behind him but still sticking out behind his shoulders. Cas made his way back to his room to put his school uniform away. 

When he walked in the room, both Adam and Benny stared at him. Cas' face was already starting to heat up. 

"Nice costume, Novak," Benny said. 

Cas gave Benny a smile in return. 

Now not as confident, but a bit more shy, Cas then left his room behind and went to go see if Charlie was ready to go yet. Sure enough, Charlie was waiting for him to arrive. She had a cute, red dress on with a red mask that belonged at a masquerade party. It was a simple costume, obviously homemade, but good. 

(Charlie's costume) 

Cas made his way over to her, his wings relaxing and spreading a bit when he saw her. Charlie had a similar reaction to everyone else. "Whoa, Cas, solid costume you got there. You look great!" Charlie grinned at him. 

The deva smiled back. "Thanks, Charlie. You look amazing in your costume." 

Charlie examined Cas' wings. "Those look so real! Great charm work on those!"

"T-thanks." 

Charlie grabbed Cas' hand in a platonic, friendship way. "C'mon, we don't want to be late. I hope there's a costume contest going on because, oh man, you're gonna win." Charlie led Cas out of the Hufflepuff common room. The two of them walked through the halls of the school, Cas' wings spreading out a bit now that there were no other eyes around besides for Charlie's. 

They walked before arriving at Rowena MacLeod's office, which was somehow big enough to host a costume party. Rowena's office had previously been owned by one Horace Slughorn, so this office had a history of parties.

When they got to the party's location, Cas felt more eyes fall onto him. His wings folded tight against his back and Cas could feel his wings trying to hide from all of the stares.

"Dean!" Charlie called, having apparently spotted the boy.

Cas' head shot up and he tried to spot where Charlie had seen Dean. The deva's wings acted like a dog's ears and perked up. Cas found Dean. Dean was wearing a red flannel shirt and some black pants. He had a new necklace on. This necklace had a charm on the end. The charm was bearing a unicursal hexagram, which was also known as the Men of Letters symbol. 

Dean walked over to them. "Hey, Charlie, Cas. Nice costumes." He eyed Cas' wings. 

"Are you supposed to be a lumber jack?" Charlie asked, confused about Dean's costume. 

"Are you supposed to be a Disney Princess?" Dean retorted. Charlie gave him a look, he shrugged. "What? I know muggle things. But, no, I'm not a lumber jack. I'm a hunter! Hunters are a kind of auror and you have to have a very specific number of qualifications to be one. It's so strict that the last hunter died like fifty years ago and there hasn't been one since. My dad used to tell me and my brother about them." 

Dean reached out to touch Cas' wings, not knowing that they were actually real. Cas, instinct, pulled away. But Cas quickly realized that his wings were not supposed to be feeling things right now so his wing stretched out so Dean could touch it. Cas blushed a bit when Dean touched his wing. Cas' wing was very soft, Dean ran his hand through the black feathers, not realizing the awkwardness it was putting Cas in. 

"This is a really good costume. How'd you manage to put this together in under 24 hours?" 

Cas shrugged. "Guess it just sort of came together on its own." 

"Are these feathers real? They feel pretty real to me." Dean looks over at Cas.

Castiel hesitates. "Yes, the feathers are real." 

Dean eventually pulled away. However, Cas' wing didn't like that and tried to get Dean to keep doing it, but Cas moved back so his wing couldn't try anything that could raise suspicion. Though Cas did admit, Dean's carful and soft movements did feel nice. 

Cas, Charlie and Dean found a few of their other friends. It took awhile before Cas finally looked at his wing that Dean had been touching and noticed something off. The feathers in this wing had been straightened out, when Cas hadn't been able to do that for a while. 

Dean and Charlie were talking around, not noticing that Cas was panicking as he finally realized something that he probably should have realized a while ago. Dean was his mate. 

When Cas felt a hand on his shoulder, he jolted and turned around, his wings suddenly coming up into a defensive position. Lupin chuckled a bit and raised his hands in surrender. "Novak, may I speak with you? About the paper you handed in last Tuesday?" 

Cas didn't hand in any papers last Tuesday, but he nodded, already knowing what Lupin was going to talk to him about. 

Lupin pulled Cas to the side of the party, making sure they were both far enough away from the others that no one would overhear. "Your wings are out," Lupin stated. 

Cas nods. "Yes, Professor, they are." 

"And they are feeling fine?" Lupin asks.

The pure-blood's head tilted, "why would they not be feeling fine, sir? Is there something I should know?" 

Lupin thought for a moment, debating on if to tell Castiel or not. "Well, Garth told me that if a deva doesn't find its mate, the wings would start to hurt, and loose some feathers, before becoming very frail and weak, and then loose all feathers. So that hasn't happened right?" 

Cas shook his head. "No, Professor. Actually, I think I found my mate. I just haven't exactly said anything yet. But I will tell you if I'm wrong and one of those symptoms pops up." 

The Professor nods before letting Cas be. 

Cas took a breath, his wings ruffling behind him. Now, he really wanted to find out if he was right. All signs were currently pointing to Dean, but there was only one way to find out for sure if the half-blood was truly Cas' mate or not. 

When Cas went back over to Dean and Charlie, Charlie was talking about her costume with Meg. "You really don't know 'The Labyrinth'? With David Bowie and everything?" Meg shook her head. Dean was laughing at them.

With some uncertainty, Cas tapped Dean's shoulder. "Dean. We... we need to talk. Alone." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Charlie’s costume was pretty hard to put together. Because they costumes are all supposed to be made of what the students already had and I was debating on if Charlie just brought a cosplay along with her or not. So I decided a regular Halloween costume would go well and made her get a fancy mask and a dress. But then I thought I could put that into any movie. So I looked up movies/shows/books with an outfit like that and the Labyrinth came up. The Labyrinth was a solid movie so I put it in.


	10. The Truth

Dean looked at Cas, easily noticing how nervous his friend currently was. "Of course, Cas. What's up?" He responds. 

"C-can we go somewhere else?" Cas asks, his wings fluttering nervously behind him. 

"Sure thing." Dean let Cas lead him away from the costume party. Cas led him to an empty classroom, Dean followed him a bit concerned and almost worried about what Cas wanted to talk about. "Cas?" Dean looks at his friend, ready to hear what he has to say. 

Castiel hesitates. How could he tell Dean the truth? How can Cas possibly explain that he really has wings, he's cursed and Dean is possibly Cas' mate. Cas thinks, briefly regretting asking Dean to talk with him without even knowing what to say or how to say it.

Dean waits patiently, understanding that whatever Cas has to say, it could be hard to come to terms with. He lets Castiel take his time coming up with the right phrases to use to explain whatever was going on. 

After talking a deep breath, Cas decides to start his explaining. 

"Shortly before I was born, my mother was cursed. She had been pregnant with me at the time this happened. She got into a fight with some guy she didn't even know. The guy cursed her. When nothing happened, my mother believed the curse had failed. So she went on her way with life. We still don't know how the one who cursed her was, he was never caught and Michael believes we may never catch him. But life went on, and my mother soon forgot about the curse and that seemingly random guy. Eventually, I was born. When I was born, my mother realized that the curse had not, in fact, failed. But it had succeeded. My mother led shortly after my birth, stating that she, and I quote, 'couldn't live with a thing like that'."

Cas paused and took a shaky breath, his wings cowering behind him like puppies that had been scared out of their minds. 

"The curse, it was 'facti sant cherubi', it's the curse one would use if they wanted to curse someone into becoming a monster." His voice cracked slightly. "Dean... the spell turned me into this. A monster." 

Dean didn't quite understand what Cas was meaning by 'this', this what? He looked perfectly human to him. Besides for the costume, but it's Halloween, so Dean didn't even think that 'this' meant Cas' wings. 

So Cas tried again. "That spell is used for turning people into devas. Devas have a human appearance except for the wings on their back." 

Dean's eyebrows furrowed as the idea of Cas' wings being real crossed his mind, but he didn't believe it. 

"Dean, when I was born, I was a pretty healthy baby. The only problem was that I had two black fluffy wings on my back. The curse didn't effect my mother, it had effected me. I was the one who was turned into a deva, a monster." Cas didn't dare look Dean in the eyes as he said this. 

The room was silent as Dean took this in. So Cas' wings were actually real? Just the top set, but they're real. Dean's best friend has wings. Wings that are actually big enough for him to leap off the ground and stay above the ground. Awesome! 

With each passing second of silence, Cas got a bit more worried. Lupin’s words rang throughout the pure-blood’s head ‘the wings would start to hurt, and loose some feathers, before becoming very frail and weak, and then loose all feathers’. Would that happen if Cas’ mate rejected him? Cas did not want that to happen. He didn’t want Dean to reject him nor for him to go through all of that. 

“So are only the top two wings real and the bottom two are.. I don’t know, fake?” Dean asks. 

Cas let out a sign of relief. If that was Dean’s first question, Cas was probably going to end up fine. 

“No, both sets are real. The bottom two are newer. Way newer, actually. Remember at the first four house sleepover when I left in the middle of the night and went to the hospital wing? That was when my bottom two wings came. Garth, you know the keeper of the grounds, said that devas only get another set or two of wings if they find their true mate. And it seems, I did,” Cas explains. 

“Garth also said,” Cas continues, “that after a deva finds their mate, no one can succeed in cleaning or preening that deva’s wings except for the mate.” Castiel glanced up at Dean and looked into his bright green eyes. “That’s actually why I decided to talk to you today. When you touched my wings earlier, you managed to straighten a couple of the feathers that I hadn’t managed to move. 

Realization hit Dean and he let out a small “oh.” 

In response to Dean’s reaction, Cas’ wings immediately cowered, as Cas thought it was a bad oh. 

“Oh,” Dean says again. “So I’m your true mate or something? What would that involve exactly?” Dean didn’t seem mad, more interested in what he would have to do to help his friend out. 

“Well I’m a bit new on the whole mate-thing as well. But I think just simple things. Garth mentioned heat, but that shouldn’t come until way later. A-and it doesn’t have to be like we’re dating or something, cause we aren’t! I think you just need to help me occasionally with any wing troubles.” Cas explained, his face heating up a bit as he rambled slightly. 

Dean shrugs. “Okay. Well, I can do that.” 

“R-really?” Cas asks, half-thinking that Dean was just playing him and Dean was just going to say ‘just kidding!’ At any given moment. 

“Yeah, really. You’re my friend, deva or not, and if I can help you with being your true mate or whatever, then I’ll do it.” Dean says. 

“You won’t just disappear on me half way through and never speak to me again? O-or call me a monster and storm out?” Cas was having serious anxiety about Dean agreeing, he just couldn’t tell if Dean was being serious about helping him or not. 

Dean looked at Cas, frowning a bit. “No, I won’t do any of that stuff, what kind of friend- or mate I should say,” Dean added a smile, “-do you think I am?” 

Cas finally relaxed a bit, believing that Dean was actually telling the truth. The deva really didn’t want another person he should have in his life up and leaving him. 

“Should we go back to the party or do you have something else to add?” Dean asks, looking at the deva with a gentle gaze. 

The Novak shakes his head, “no. We can go back.” 

Dean takes Cas’ hand in a friendly, no-homo way and they walk back to the party together. They find Charlie at the food table (there’s even more Halloween sweets at the party! Ft. A very happy Charlie). The red-head glances at their connected hands and smiles at the two of them. 

For another hour or so, the three of them hang out. Cas gets multiple compliments on his “costume” and Dean sneaks him a knowing grin each time. There isn’t any costume contests which makes Charlie sad because she was so sure Cas would’ve won one of those. 

It soon gets late, both Dean and Cas agree that it was time for them to leave. Cas saying that he would walk Dean down to the Gryffindor common room before leaving for the Hufflepuff one. The two of them walk hand in hand towards the exit of the party but they hear someone talking to them from behind. 

“Ooh look at this, two faggot children. How wonderful!” It’s a fifth year who has a snarky grin on his face. He stands laughing with a couple of his friends. 

“Leave them alone, Ishim,” a voice says. 

Ishim, Cas and Dean all turn to see Professor Lupin standing there, with a nasty look on his face. “Five points from Slytherin.” Lupin says, eyeing Ishim. 

Ishim growls and walks away, leaving Cas and Dean alone. 

Lupin makes his way over to Dean and Cas. “Got a lot of comments on your costume, I assume, Castiel?” Lupin asks Cas, speaking like they shared a secret and he was trying to get Dean away so the two could speak. 

“It’s okay, Professor. He knows,” Cas says simply. 

Remus looks over at Dean, “does he now?” 

Dean nods. “Yes sir, I do.” 

“And is he....?” 

“Yes. He is.” Castiel smiles at his mate. Dean smiles back. 

Lupin nods. “Well, if that’s true, I think I have someplace I would like to show the pair of you.” 

Cas and Dean exchanged a look before following their professor out of Rowena’s party-holding office. Lupin leads them to the staircase room. The three of them travel across the moving staircases as Lupin tries to find the best way to get to their designated location. After about five tries of getting to someplace, Lupin finally brings the two boys to the second floor. 

There’s a bit more of walking as Lupin leads them down a few halls. He takes them to a closet door that has a “pull open” sign on it. Lupin wordlessly glances over at the two boys with a mischievous smile before turning the door knob and pulling out to reveal a magnificently dusty closet. Lupin closes the door before opening it again, this time pushing in like a rebel. The door swings in to show a different room. This room is larger than the closet. 

Inside this room, there were two comfortable looking muggle beanbags as well as two tables. On one of the tables, there was a light. On the other table, there was a small wizard clock that was set to alarm at the same time the rest of school got up. Lupin swished his wand and an old looking, knitted blanket came flying from somewhere down the hall to his hands. 

“When I was at school, Sirius and I found this room. We found it completely by accident. We had panicked and were searching for a way to escape one of the teachers. Because of the way we found it, we decided to call it ‘the panic room’. Over the course of our years the Hogwarts, we spend so much time in there, just the two of us. We brought down those beanbags and the tables. It was mainly used for a space where we could be alone together. Now that I no longer have a use for it, I think you two would benefit from having it. I don’t believe anyone has been here in years. It’s all yours.” Lupin smiled sadly to himself. 

The boys walked inside. The Panic Room wasn’t that big, but it was big enough for the two of them to stay. Lupin slowly walked in behind them. The professor walked right over to the wall of the left and ran his hand across it. He stopped and looked at the wall, there were two initials on that wall. ‘RL + SB’ it read. Lupin smiled at seeing that. 

The Professor then walked over to Cas and handed him the blanket. “Here, though it doesn’t get cold in here, you might want this.” 

Lupin made his way to leave. “And if you two do decide to stay here, you won’t need to worry about anyone wondering where you’ve gone. I will tell your house heads and notify that you are both safe and together.” Lupin pauses, “oh, and Castiel, good luck with your Quidditch game tomorrow, it’s your first one after all.” 

This was true, November 1 was the first scheduled Quidditch game that involved Hufflepuff. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had played last week, so now it was Hufflepuff’s turn. Cas was nervous about it. Like really nervous. But that was not the main thing on his mind right now.

And with that, Lupin was gone. 

Cas looked around the Panic Room. “Now we don’t have to be apart,” Cas said softly. “Unless you get sick of me, then you are free to go. But I think I’m going to stay here. It’s a nice room and I don’t have to worry about hiding from anyone inside here.” 

“If you’re staying, I’m staying.” Dean said. 

Dean walked over to the light and turned it on before going over and closing the door. “Who’s Sirius?” Dean asks, mentioning Lupin’s mate. 

“Oh, he was Lupin’s mate. Er... Lupin is a werewolf. The sorting hat mentioned him to me when I got sorted, so I got up enough courage to talk to him. I told him my secret, he told me his,” Cas answered. “He really seems to have loved Sirius.” 

Dean nods and goes over to one of the beanbags and sits down on it. “Whoa, these are way more comfortable than I thought they would be!” He exclaims, smiling. “These don’t feel like they’re that old.”

Cas walks over and sits down in the other beanbag. “Oh yeah, these are comfortable,” he says, trying one for himself. 

The pure-blood looks over at his mate, debating on if to ask Dean for something or not. “Hey, Dean?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Can you help me with my wings?” Cas asks shyly. 

Dean turns to him. “Sure, Cas. I can help. Let’s see... how about you come over here and sit on the floor in front of me so I can easily reach your wings?” He suggests. 

Cas stands up and moves a few inches before sitting back down on the cold floor. His wings sitting relaxed against his back. 

The Winchester reaches out. “So, uh, how do I do this exactly?” He asks, a bit confused. 

“Could you just straighten most of my wings, please?” Cas asks. 

“Yeah, I can do that.” 

Dean sits forward a bit in his beanbag. He runs his fingers gently through the soft feathers before going back through and trying to straighten out most of the crooked ones. 

“Your wings are pretty, Cas. I don’t know how anyone could see them and think otherwise,” Dean comments with a soft smile. 

Cas smiles himself. “Thank you, Dean. But I think my parents would disagree.” 

“On the subject of your parents, the holiday break is like two months away. I was wondering if maybe you would want to come over to my house for that time? You have a brother who is Sammy’s age, maybe you could bring him too so Sam could have someone he knows when he goes to Hogwarts? I know it’s a while away, but it’s just a suggestion.” Dean suggests this to Cas. 

The pure-blood thinks for a moment. Hanging out with Dean for the holidays does seem nice. And he isn’t exactly the glue of his family. Plus Gabriel would like to meet another wizard his age, as well as Dean (though Cas could only imagine the joking taunts Gabe would throw his way when he’s told that Dean is his mate).

“That would be nice. I will have to ask my family before I get you an answer though,” Cas says. 

Dean nods, even though Cas can’t see him. The Winchester continues to straighten out Cas’ feathers, Castiel occasionally humming in enjoyment. After a while, Dean finishes up and pulls his hands away. 

Cas stands up. His wings, now tidy and cleaner than before, stretch out behind him. The Panic Room is just big enough for Cas to completely stretch his wings out. 

Dean looks up at Cas, slightly awestruck at the sight of Cas and his beautiful dark wings. When Cas realizes Dean is staring, his face goes bright red. The deva lowers his wings, though the wings not quite going back to the hiding position they had been in before. Cas now stood a bit taller, with his wings casually sitting at their regular stance instead of hiding like they usually would whenever Cas is even slightly uncomfortable. 

Castiel sat down in his beanbag chair. He smiled at Dean and threw the rather large blanket over the two of them. Cas’ eyes had already started to fall when he whispered, “goodnight, Dean.” 

“Goodnight, Cas,” Dean responded but Castiel was already asleep. Dean followed shortly after him. 

Dean woke up a few hours later. It wasn’t yet morning, it was still dark out. Dean realized the blanket had fallen off both him and Cas. The Winchester looked over to see Cas still asleep. The pure-blood was in a ball, one of his wings was hanging off of the beanbag, another was over Cas’ shoulder. The other two were trying to mimic the bigger wings, but both of the newer set of wings were too small to actually copy the bigger wings’ position. 

Dean smiled gently at Cas and reached over to pull the blanket back over himself and Cas. He did so before falling back to sleep. 

They were both happy with the other and everything was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation for spell is literally ‘become winged beast’ in Latin. With one change to make it “original” XD


	11. The Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quidditch!

When Dean awoke the next morning got, the school alarm had not yet gone off, so he assumed it was earlier than 7:00. With tired eyes, he looked over at his friend. Cas was not yet awake and he was sleeping peacefully. 

Dean thought it was just him and Cas in the Panic Room, but he was wrong. A Hogwarts house elf worked silently. The house elf had clothes in her hands. Dean recognized the clothes as Hogwarts uniforms.

"Hey," Dean spoke, calling to the house elf. 

The house elf jumped. "Oh, hello Master Winchester. Mylie apologizes for waking you. Master Lupin has asked Mylie to bring Master Winchester and Master Novak their Hogwarts uniforms." Mylie the house elf explained what she was going in the supposedly secret Panic Room. 

By now, Castiel had woken up. The deva stirred in his spot, his black wings ruffling beside him. 

Dean glanced over at Cas when the other boy had started to move. 

When Cas Caen to and realized the pair of boys weren't alone, he instinctively jumped back in his beanbag chair, his wings being pulled against his back before disappearing. Dean made note to ask Cas how exactly he did that. Dean was still new to the whole wing thing. 

Mylie apologizes to Cas and Dean once again before placing their clothes on floor before disappearing with a snap of her fingers.

"That was strange," Dean comments when the house elf leaves. The Winchester shrugs and turns to his new mate. "So, Cas did you sleep well? I certainly did, these beanbags are _way_ comfier than they look." 

The pure-blood nods, "yes, I slept well. Better than have all year." Cas smiles. 

Dean grins. "I'm glad. Are you excited for your first game as seeker?" 

Cas laughs nervously. "I am pretty anxious about it, to be truthful. But also excited."

"You'll do great," Dean assures him. "Whether you win or loose."

The deva smiles, "thanks, Dean. I hope you end up being correct."

Dean thought for a moment. "Hey. You mentioned Michael saying you were a natural on a broom. Is that because you were literally born to fly?" 

Cas laughs softly. "Yes, you could say that." 

"Have you actually used your wings for flight before? Are they strong enough to hold you?" Dean asks him, curiously.

"I believe they are strong enough to hold me, yes," Cas answers, "however, I haven't tried in a long time. My father caught me flying while my siblings were using their brooms and flying around. Well, I should just say it ended well. Every now and again, I would use one of their brooms. I was good at it, but it could never compete with the feeling of flying free." 

Dean nods, frowning at the way Cas' father used to treat Cas. Dean would probably never get over the fact that abuse was the way Cas grew up.

"Come on," Dean stood up, "we should probably get dressed and go down to the Great Hall so we won't be late. We don't want to raise any more suspicion. A couple people are probably already suspicious that we didn't show up at our common rooms." 

Cas copied his movements and stood up, stretching a bit. His wings reappeared on his back, stretching out to their full extent. 

"How does that work?" Dean asks, "your wings disappearing and reappearing?" 

"Well, I have two options for hiding my wings. One of them being hiding them under my clothes. Which has gotten a bit complicated with the new set of wings I have. Or, I can hide the, on a different plane of existence; where they are invisible but still there. I use the other plane of existence to phase my wings through any clothes without destroying them. I usually hide my wings under my clothes because putting them in the other plane is energy draining. But I think I'm getting better at having them that way, in the other plan of existence." Castiel explains his wing situation. 

The other boy nods and goes over to the pile of clothes on the floor. He picked up the clothes and sorted out his clothes from Cas'. "Here." Dean handed the deva his clothes. "Mind if I change in the corner? I don't wanna bother going out and trying to find a bathroom just yet." 

Cas takes his clothes. "No, I don't mind. I'll change in the corner opposite of you." Cas makes his way over to one corner while Dean goes over to the other. The two of them change into their school uniforms. They make sure the other is finished changing before both turning and meeting back in the center of the room. 

The two boys smiled at each other before turning together and walking out of the Panic Room, cautious of any students or teachers that may be passing by. With the coast cleared, Dean and Cas walked through the halls, eventually making it to the moving staircases. 

"The game doesn't start until after lunch. What are your plans for the first half of day?" Dean asks, deciding to make some conversation while they travelled along the ever changing staircases. 

Cas shrugs, "dunno. Likely spend most of it trying to explain to Charlie why I didn't go back to the common room with her?" 

Dean chuckled. "Yeah, she's likely upset about that. I wouldn't be surprised if she went to the teacher 'my friends been murdered! My friend's been murdered!'" He laughs, shaking his head a bit. 

"I wouldn't be surprised either."

The two boys eventually arrive at the Great Hall. Mere seconds after they entered, Charlie came running up to them. "Oh my Mystra*!Where have you been Cas, I thought you were murdered or something." 

Dean flung his arms out at Cas in a "What-did-I-tell-you" sort of why. Cas smiled and rolled his eyes at him.

"Sorry for scaring you, Charlie. I just stayed with Dean for the night, that's all," Cas explains to her. He glanced over at Dean, who was still acting cocky about being correct about Charlie's thoughts on what happened to Cas when he didn't show. 

Charlie looked between the two of them. She was silent and suspecting for a few moments before shrugging. "It's cool, just try not to scare me like that, k?" 

The trio walked over to their usual spot at the Gryffindor table. Meg, Maze, Morningstar and Chloe all sat at the table already. 

"Apparently we're late," Dean whispered to Cas with a soft laugh. 

"Apparently."

Breakfast went by pretty quickly, with Cas eating a bit more than usual and talking more than he usually would. The Great Hall had already taken down all the Halloween and fall decorations already. The chatter in the dining hall was a bit quieter as everyone seemed tired from the night before. 

Once breakfast was finished, Cas excused himself to go to the owlery. The others said it was fine and that Cas could meet up with them outside on the school lawn. 

After saying goodbye, Cas left the Great Hall to get to the Owlery. The deva walked silently through the halls. He passed a few other students on the way but the halls were mostly empty. One of the moving pictures caught Cas' attention for a moment. 

The picture was of a man wearing a blue coat, however the frame was only of his shoulders and above so it couldn't be determined if the coat was long or not. The man had floofy, light brown hair that curled at the ends. He wore a Hufflepuff-themed scarf. The man looked like he was plucked right out of the early 1900s. He looked distracted and seemed to be working on something below frame. His hands were full so he held his wand between his teeth. 

Cas looked at the picture for a moment. The man in the picture glanced up from whatever he was doing and met gaze with Cas. The man's eyebrows furrowed before he looked back at whatever he was doing. Castiel shrugged and continued walking. 

Castiel finally arrived at the owlery. He grabbed a piece of paper that was waiting for students to take, as well as a ink-lasting quill. With the quill, Cas wrote a letter to his family at home. 

With Dean's offer from earlier in mind, Cas started. 

' _Dear everyone at home,_

_Last night I told one of my friends about my situation. He was very accepting about it. And he actually asked me if I wanted to go over to his house for Christmas break. He has a brother named Sam who is Gabriel's age. I was thinking maybe Gabe and I could go over? And next time I get invited over to a friend's place, I can bring another one of you guys, if you would like?_

_As of now, it's just a possibility that I will go over, Dean still has to ask his guardian about going. But I wanted to inform you that I may not be home for Christmas. Though we never really have a full celebration..._

_Well, Gabe, get back to me on if you want to go or not. I'm going to ask Michael later._

_Sorry for the short letter, I may send another one that's longer later._

_Love,_

_Castiel_ ' 

Cas signed his letter before tying it to one of the school birds and sending the bird off. He watched as the owl flew away into the distance before turning and heading back to find his friends. 

-

As the rest of the group finished up their breakfast, Dean was silently debating on if he should do something or not. He wanted to do it, he just didn't know when. 

Like, can he just casually walk up to the teacher table and ask Bobby if one of his friends could come over for the entirety of the holiday break? It would probably seem odd to the other students, but Dean wanted to try. 

Dean watched as Bobby stood up to leave. This was his chance. Dean stood up and made his way to catch up with his adopted guardian. Bobby turned when his boy caught up to him. 

"What's up, Dean?" Bobby asks, looking down at his boy. 

"For the holiday break, can I have a friend over?" Dean asks. 

Bobby frowned a bit. "For the whole time?" 

"Yeah.."

"I'll think about it. Who is this friend you want to invite over for break? I will send a letter to his parents."

Dean stopped him. "Actually, his father isn't the best, his older brothers are the ones who look over him... it's Castiel Novak." 

Bobby's frown deepened. "Novak, you say? I think about it. Get back to you when it gets closer." 

Dean nods. "Thanks, Bobby." 

"Don't thank me yet, boy, I haven't decided yet." Bobby ruffled Dean's hair before walking away. 

Knowing it was probably going to be a yes, Dean made his way back over to his friends. The friend group made their way outside. They found a nice set of grass and sat down. Before long, Cas joined them. The group talked and talked, playing a few muggle games to pass the time. 

Lunch came and went rather quickly before Cas was pulled aside by Dan and asked to meet him and the rest of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. (Mazikeen had already left to joined the Slytherins.) Cas said bye to his friends before following Dan. 

However, before he could disappear and join the other Hufflepuffs, Dean stopped him by grabbing his wrist. Cas looked back at Dean, confused. 

"Good luck," Dean said softly, with a kind smile. 

Cas smiled back at him. "Thanks," he said before turning and walking off with Dan. 

Dan brought Cas to the Hufflepuff changing room. Cas was handed his brand-new Quidditch uniform. The deva put it on, making sure to keep his wings hidden from sight. Once changed, he grabbed his Silver Arrow 3 broom, which was also brand-new and bought for him. With his things ready, Cas joined the other Hufflepuffs as Dan started a before-game pep talk. 

"So, it's our first game. And there is reason to be nervous. The Slytherins are good players. They can and will play rough. But I have confidence in us. We have a new seeker, Castiel Novak, who is extremely talented. With his help, we will have a chance of winning. A chance is all we need to start out strong and stay strong throughout the entire game. We also have Jae White, and they will be our new keeper. Jae, Castiel, I believe in you two. Try not to think about failing, because that will make you fail. Think about winning and you'll have a chance." Dan looked at his Quidditch team. "Let's go!" 

Together, the Hufflepuffs marched out onto the field. The Quidditch stands were filled with loads of students. There were red and blue mixed in with lots of yellow and green in the stands. 

On the opposite end of the field, the Slytherins came marching out of their own changing room. 

"And here come both the Slytherin and Hufflepuff teams." The announcer and commentator, Lysander Scamander, spoke into a microphone 

Lysander went on to introduce each member of the two teams. "The Hufflepuffs have two new players, Jae White, the keeper and Castiel Novak, the seeker." 

Madam Hooch walked over to the center of the field. The Quidditch players surrounded her as she unlocked the Quidditch balls. The two bludgers went flying into the air, as well ask the snitch. 

Castiel and Maze nodded at each other in a way of saying "good luck" to the other. 

"Mount your brooms," Madam Hooch commanded. 

Everyone on the field mounted their brooms. 

"Go!" Everyone flew up into the air as Madam Hooch threw the Quaffle into the air for the chasers to catch. The rest of the players scattered. 

Dan and Maze went to their posts, while Cas and the Slytherin seeker flew up into the air to try and spot the snitch. 

"Oh, and White starts off his first Quidditch game by grabbing the Quaffle first. Oh my, he's a fast flyer. That looks like a Nimbus 5003 to me. White passes the ball to Lopez, Lopez passes it to Morris. But- ooh, the Slytherin Palmer intercepts it and passes the Quaffle to his teammate Kason. But White takes the ball in a swift move. That was a really advanced move they just did, folks. Bravo, White!” 

“The other Slytherin chaser, Rufters, takes the ball from White and approaches Espinoza. With a great toss, Rufters throws the ball and- OOH Espinoza catches it just in time.” 

Cas grins at Dan’s save. Up here was really the best view for watching the Quidditch game. It was the Novak’s first game so he was really mesmerized by how it all worked. 

“It looks like the Slytherin beater, Jackson, is aiming for Dan. He hits the bludger towards Espinoza but he doesn’t see it. Lucky for him, the Hufflepuff beater steps in just in time. Nice job, Rivera!” 

The game goes on as Cas watches and tries to spot the snitch. A few times, a random bludger would chase after him but he would be saved by either Rivera or Carlson, the other beater. 

Castiel and Ryan Sturry, The Slytherin seeker, flew around and around the Quidditch pitch, both of them looking for the snitch. 

The game was currently 60 to 80, with the Slytherins in the lead. They were about an hour into the game. Slytherin and Hufflepuff were a pretty good match for each other. Some of the Slytherins did play rough, but the Hufflepuffs mostly didn’t, yet it was still a moderately fair match. 

Finally, Castiel spotted a blur of gold. He had spotted the snitch! He dived after it, keeping an eye on the fast moving snitch. Cas speeded up to catch the snitch. Sturry had caught on by now and was close behind Cas. The snitch turned sharply, and Cas followed it with little struggle. Though Sturry did take an extra few seconds to change his decoration. 

Lysander began to commentate on their race. “Novak has seemed to have spotted the snitch. And holy wizard, he’s moving fast. That’s only, what, a Silver Arrow? Wow. Sturry races after him. They race to catch the snitch. Novak stays in the front, moving smoothly while Sturry has a bit of trouble keeping up.” 

Sturry almost catches up but Cas manages to stay in front. Cas reaches his arm out as he gets close to the snitch. His balance is easily kept as he reaches out. 

“Novak is getting closer and closer, but can he catch the snitch or will he loose it?” 

Cas reached out further and finally came close to the small, golden ball. Cas’ hands close around the fast moving snitch and he slowed to a stop. He looked down at his hand and smiled. He had caught the snitch and won the game. 

The crowd burst into cheered as Cas showed them the ball. He grinned and came down to the ground. “Good game,” he told Sturry when the other seeker landed next to him. Sturry nodded, “good game.” 

Cas walked over to the other members of his team, the snitch still in his hand. His team was grinning at him. When he arrived, Tanya Rivera patted his back. Cas winced and pulled away from her. Rivera frowned. A couple of his other teammates noticed, including Dan. 

“Did you get hurt?” Dan asks him. 

Cas shakes his head. “No, no, I’m fine.” He says. 

Dan shrugged and let him be. 

Cas noticed his friends coming over from the stands and grinned at them. Charlie congratulated him first, with a large smile. Dean high fives him, smiling as well. Cas smiles back at them. 

“Good job, Clarence,” Meg said, coming over to them with Maze beside her. 

Cas had won the game. And all was good. At least, for now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Mystra is a D&D goddess of magic. I haven't played D&D, her name just looked cool
> 
> I know it's a bad description but can anyone guess who was in that moving picture Cas looked at?


	12. The Start of Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey! More main characters!

It was the night before the holiday break. Tests had just been completed in multiple different classes to "see how far everyone has gotten". The students were all tired and ready for a long break. The Holiday break lasted three weeks. Starting about a week before Christmas Day and ending just after New Years Day. 

Cas and Dean sat together in the Panic Room, late at night. Currently, they weren't trying to sleep, just talking quietly to each other. The deva had his wings out and his black wings were settled lazily behind his back. 

Bobby had gotten back to Dean about Cas spending the vacation at his house, he had said yes. Bobby had even asked Michael if Cas could stay, as Bobby knew of the not-so-great household the Novaks lived in. Michael had told Bobby about his life back home, as he trusted the Head of Gryffindor. And although Bobby didn't know what Cas' condition was when Michael told him, he knew he had one. Michael had also agreed to let Cas go. To make it better, Gabriel had decided to go with Castiel to Dean's house too. 

With Cas' permission, Dean had explained to Bobby Cas' situation. Bobby took the information well and informed Cas that he would not have to hide his wings while at his house, though he could if he did not feel comfortable. Cas thanked him. 

Right now, Cas and Dean sat on their beanbags, chatting about how they would be spending the vacation. Dean was really excited about introducing Cas to Sam, he had a feeling his best friend and brother would get along. 

Dean was telling Cas about his plan to show the deva all the cool places around his town. Though the Singers and Winchesters lived in a muggle-filled town, they still managed to keep their statuses as wizards a secret. Dean mentioned how Ellen's cooking was simply the best, and that they would be having a Christmas feast. 

"Though, Bobby probably will invite Professor Rufus Turner, the Ancient History teacher, and Professor Kelly Kline who teaches Earth Magic. They are all cool and accepting, but it's okay if you don't want them to know about your wings." Dean was super aware that Cas may end up feeling uncomfortable around new people, especially with his wings out, so he made sure to make it clear that it was okay if Cas didn't want his wings visible. 

"And, _oohhhhhhh,_ you have to try Ellen's pies. They are even better than the ones here. And the ones here are hella good." Dean grinned. 

Cas smiled. "I can't wait." 

-

Bags were packed and students were ready to leave. Cas was back in his trench-coat. The pure-blood quickly ran up to Dean when he spotted the other boy, his coat flying behind him. "Hi," Cas huffed when he reached Dean. In one hand, Cas carried his suitcase filled with clothes and his other items. In his other hand, he carried his new broom. 

Dean greeted him back with a smile. "I'm really excited for this." 

"Me too," Cas says. 

Charlie catches up to them. She had a sweater on. The sweater had a muggle roleplaying logo in the middle of it, Charlie wore it proudly even though most students had no idea what the logo was from. 

"'Sup, bitches!" Charlie greeted them, grinning her signature grin at them. Even at 11, Charlie knew many muggle swears and would go around saying them because she wouldn't get in trouble for saying a muggle swear in a wizarding school. 

(And the amount of times Charlie would go around just saying "fuck you!" to anyone was too many to count. And sometimes, she would accidentally say it to a muggleborn and either get laughed at or get yelled at. Either way, it was still fun. Dean certainly had some laughs watching Charlie do this.) 

When the trio arrived at the Hogwarts Express, the train was just as amazing as it had been when they first stepped foot upon it. 

Cas spent a good fraction of the time on the train thinking about how he had not yet told Charlie about his wings. He wanted to, yes, but he just couldn't do it, y'know? 

And Charlie had her suspicions that something was up. She just didn't push it, knowing that she would be told in time. Besides, she had only met these kids a few months ago. 

It was really crazy to see what had changed since September 1st. 

Lupin would get "sick" every month and only Dean and Cas knew why. Almost every night, Dean and Cas would not show up in their assigned rooms, instead sleeping in the same hidden room. Cas had won another Quidditch match, this time against Slytherin. But he had lost one game against Gryffindor, which Dean would jokingly tease him about. Meg and Maze slowly got closer. Lucifer Novak kept trying (and failing quite miserably) to pick a fight with Lucifer Morningstar, But Morningstar would ignore him and Cas, Dean and Charlie would laugh about it. Michael would check in with his younger brother every now and again, sometimes Garth would drop by to see how Cas was doing with both sets of wings. And each time, Garth would mention healing those scars, and each time, Cas would refuse. 

After a long ride back to King's Cross Station, the train finally came to a stop at it's destination. Grabbing all their stuff, three suitcases, Dr. Whoo, and the Silver Arrow broomstick, Cas, Dean and Charlie leave the train. 

Platform 9 3/4 is filled with families waiting to reunite with their children. There's loud chatter that fills the wizarding platform. Cas rolls his shoulders back, not at all liking the noise. Cas sticks close to his friends and the trio zigzag their way through the crowd. 

Charlie is the first to find her family. She says goodbye to Cas and Dean before running off to her parents. "She's almost like that annoying sister who you love with all of your heart," Dean says to Cas as they watch Charlie go. 

Cas and Dean continued to walk through the crowd. The deva freezes in his place for half a second when someone accidentally bumps into his back but he keeps going. 

"Dean!" A small voice calls over the crowd. 

Both Dean and Cas turn. Dean grins when he spots his little brother. "Hiya, Sammy. Miss me?" Dean asks, walking over to Sam and taking Cas along with him. 

Sam smiles widely at his older brother. "No! Not one bit!" He says, jokingly. 

Both Winchesters know that's a lie. 

Dean hugs his brother, while Cas stands off to the side. When Dean pulls away, he grabs Cas' wrist to pull the other boy closer. "Sam, I want you to meet my friend. This is Cas. He will be staying with us for Christmas break, okay?" 

"Hello!" Sam greets Castiel with a large smile. 

"Hello, Sam. Dean has told me a lot about you." Cas smiles back at the younger boy. 

Suddenly, Cas feels someone crash into him from behind. Gabriel attacks Cas with a tight hug. Cas looks over at Gabe and smiles softly at his brother. "Hello, Gabe," Cas greets. 

Gabe smiles up at his brother. "Heya Cassie. This is a new coat you've got. It fits you." Gabriel walked around Cas so the Winchesters could see him and he could see the Winchesters. 

“Lemme guess,” Gabe said, looking at Dean, “you’re the boy my brother never shuts up about? Dean, right?”

“That’s me,” Dean confirms. 

“And you’re Sam, right?” 

Sam nods. 

Gabe smiles at him. “Hi.” His voice is a bit more quiet now that he takes Sam’s appearance in.

Cas laughs quietly at his brother, already knowing where this will be going. 

Once again, Cas feels small arms wrap around his waist. He looks down to see young Anna hugging him. Cas reaches down and picks his little sister up. “Hi, Anna.” He greets her. “Anna, this is my friend Dean and his little brother Sam. Can you say hi?” 

Anna hides her face in Cas’ neck. Dean smiles at her, mouthing “awww” at Cas. 

“Balthazar went to go find Michael and Lucifer?” Cas asks, addressing Gabriel. 

Gabe nods, “yup. Ran off as quickly as he could. It was almost like he couldn’t stand to be around me for another minute.” Gabe laughs. 

Cas shakes his head a bit. He puts Anna back down on the floor before crouching down so he was eye to eye with his young sister. “I want you to tell Mikey and Luci that I said bye, if I don’t see them, okay? Can you do that?” 

Anna nods her small little head. 

“Good.” Cas stands up and Anna runs off to find her other brothers. 

“Quick, lets run,” Gabe said jokingly. 

“Quite a family you’ve got,” Dean says to Cas. 

“Like I said on the day we met, big and chaotic,” Cas replies. 

Sam notices what Cas is holding. “Whoa, is that your broom? You fly?” Sam asks Cas, stepping towards him a bit. 

Cas looks at Dean in a you-haven’t-told-him-yet way. Dean shrugs. “Yes,” Cas answers him, looking back at the younger boy, “it’s my broom that I use to fly. The school got it for me when I got onto the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.” 

“Aren’t you a first year?” Sam asks, “I didn’t think first years were allowed to be on the team.” 

“Usually, we aren’t. But it does happen occasionally.”

Dean leaned over to Cas when Sam started to talk with Gabe. “I was going to tell him, I just didn’t get the chance. Either Bobby or I will tell him on the way home.” 

Almost on cue, Bobby and another woman showed up. The woman had light brown hair and sparkly eyes that could easily kill someone with a single glare, but also seemed quite nice. 

“Hello, Sam, Dean, Castiel,” Bobby greeted. “Novak, this is my wife, Ellen. I want to assume Dean has told you about her?” 

“Yes, sir,” Cas answers. “He has told me about Ellen.” Cas greets Ellen with a small smile, before going on to introduce his brother. “This is Gabriel, my brother.” 

Bobby and Ellen greet Gabe, he says hello back. 

This was going to be a nice vacation. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter (it’s like 300 words shorter than I would have liked but whatever). Just wanted to get this out before later. Before the juicy parts start up. 
> 
> And, yes, this is actually going to go somewhere. I do have a bigger plot in mind. Because, for once, I actually have a plan for this story. And I personally think it’s a good one! 
> 
> Gonna be way more time skips coming up. But not yet.


	13. The Two Agents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FREEZE MOTHA F*CKA WE’RE THE WIZARD COPS!

The journey to Bobby's house took about an hour. Mainly because Ellen had used a car to get to King's Cross and they couldn't just leave the car. On the drive back, Bobby (with help from Dean and a few extra comments from Gabe and Cas) explained to Sam about Cas' condition. Sam took the information really well. Which Cas was glad of. 

It meant that when they finally arrived, Cas could take out his wings and just relax. Gabriel had commented on Cas' broom, asking why even bother using it when he could just use his wings to catch the snitch. 

Which made Dean ask how fast Cas could fly with his wings. Only to remember, a second later, that Cas hadn't used his wings in a long time. 

As the train ride to King's Cross took up just about the whole day, Ellen had decided to make some dinner when they got to Bobby's home. When they did arrive, Cas noticed that Bobby's house had two visible floors and a nice, large backyard. It was a nice house, a bit smaller than the Novaks', but then again, they had to fit eight people into one house. 

Everyone got out of the car. Ellen went to the trunk of the car and unloaded Dean and Cas' luggage. She handed the bags to them, correctly separating Dean's stuff from Cas'. She also got out Gabriel's things which he had packed in case he needed them. 

"Thank you for letting us stay, Professor Singer," Cas says to Bobby. 

"Just call me Bobby when we aren't in school," the teacher responds. 

The four boys and two adults walk up to the house. Ellen unlocks the front door with a key because of the 'no magic outside of the house' rule. 

The inside is neat and cozy. Moving pictures of Sam, Dean, Bobby and Ellen line the halls. Both Novaks looked at each picture as they passed. Gabriel makes a few jokes, commenting on pictures of toddler Sam. 

Cas notices a picture of four year old Dean and a two year old Sam, holding hands with a dark-haired man and a blonde woman. "Was... was that your mother?" Cas asks, glancing over at his mate. 

Dean walks over to him, looking sadly at the photo on the wall. "Yes, that's her. That's her with my dad." 

"She was beautiful," Cas says quietly. 

"She was," Dean agrees. 

Both boys look at the moving picture for a moment, before Sam steps in and breaks the sad moment. "Can I see your wings?" He asks, looking up hopefully at Cas. 

"Sam!" Dean scolds. "Cas, you don't have t-"

"No, it's fine, Dean. How about I show you my wings once we all get settled, okay?" 

Sam nods, "okay!" He says cheerily. 

Bobby turns to them. "Okay, so you boys have a couple choices as to where you can stay. We have three guests rooms that you choose from, or you can make room in either Sam or Dean's bedroom." 

Immediately, Cas stepped towards Dean like he was picking a pattern on a school project. Dean smiled at Cas. 

Gabe thought for a moment and decided to copy his brother's choice. "I'll stay with Sam, if that's cool?" 

Sam nods, "that's cool." 

"Alright. Go unpack your things, dinner should be ready soon." 

Sam and Gabriel went down to the basement, because there's also a basement. While Dean and Cas went to the upstairs. 

Dean's room was the last in the hallway. His room was pretty big and had a bunch of posters on the walls, both muggle and wizarding posters. The muggle posters mostly consisted of old bands, while the wizarding posters consisted of Quidditch teams and pictures of Hogwarts. On the parts of the walls that weren't covered in posters, Dean had a bunch of fake hunter tools hung up on his wall. A few enchanted guns, some enochian brass knuckles which looked really cool, and some other things. 

Cas looked around his room. "You've got a nice room," he comments. 

Dean smiles proudly. "Thanks. Decorated it all by myself." 

"How long have you been excited to go to Hogwarts?" Cas asks, noticing all the Hogwarts posters up. 

The Winchester chuckles. "A long while. Since I was told about it, I think. I mean, who isn't excited to go to a school for magic? It's like the coolest thing there is!" 

Cas doesn't respond. 

"So," Dean continues, "where do you want to sleep? The bed is probably big enough to fit the two of us, but if you want, Bobby can probably conjure up a mattress or something." Dean suggests few options for Cas' sleeping situation. 

"Can we ask Bobby for the mattress?" Cas asks. 

Dean nods, "of course." 

\- 

"Whoa! You've got a bunk bed?!" Gabriel asks, excitedly when he enters Sam's room. 

"Yeah, I do. Top or bottom?" 

//Author's note: hahahahaha\\\

"Hmmm... top," Gabe answers. "The top always seems more fun." Gabriel throws one of his bags onto the top bunk. Sam's own stuff was already on the bottom bunk. 

"What do you think Hogwarts will be like?" Sam asks Gabe. 

"I dunno. I want it to be a surprise. My brother Luci says there's lots of dessert, so that's probably the thing I'm most excited about. What about you, what are you excited about in Hogwarts."

Sam thinks for a moment, "I think learning new stuff, mostly. There's so much information they will be giving us! And they won't even be scratching the surface. But I'm also excited to meet some more people. Like, you already seem great and I've only known you for an hour or so." 

\- //A/N: did I make that part just for the bottom/top thing? Maybe..\\\

Cas finishes unpacking his stuff, with some help from Dean. A lot of his Hogwarts stuff, he just leaves in his bag, but the more personal items, he takes out. 

When they finish unpacking Cas' things, the two friends head downstairs to see if dinner was close to being done. Which it wasn't. Sam and Gabriel were in the couch room, so they joined them. 

"Can I see your wings now?" Sam asks, when he sees Cas approach. 

Cas smiles softly. "Sure." He rolls his shoulders back and his four wings appear on his back. The deva's wings don't spread out to their resting position. Cas was showing his wings off to a person he had only just met. And sure, it was Dean's little brother, but still.

"Hey, two sets of wings makes you look almost as cool as Luci," Gabriel said, joking because Lucifer was not the "coolest" dude around. 

Sam looked awestruck at Cas' wings. "Those are so cool!" Sam says after a moment. "Can I touch them?" 

Since Dean had become his mate, Cas realized that his wings were far more sensitive to foreign touch. Gabriel could probably run a hand through his feathers, and it would feel strange. It was like the only person allowed to touch Cas' wings were Dean. 

"Uhm, maybe later," Cas says. 

Thinking that was enough wing time for now, Cas puts his wings away. Dean frowns ever so slightly, as he could tell Castiel was a bit uncomfortable with his wings out around other people that weren't him. 

Before long, dinner is ready. It was a simple meal. Pasta with the option of adding sauce and meatballs. It was simple and super delicious. 

Compliments kept coming from the four children. Ellen said it was nothing. 

"Cas, dear, remind me what house you were sorted into?" Ellen asks, making discussion. 

"I was sorted into Hufflepuff," Cas answers. 

"Do you have friends in Hufflepuff?" 

Cas nods, "yes, ma'am, a few. But our friend group is mostly a mixture of houses. And years, to be honest. There's Meg Masters and her Slytherin best friend Mazikeen Smith. Maze is a second year, Meg is a first year Slytherin. Dean and I met her on the train. There's Charlie Bradbury, who is also a first year Hufflepuff. We met her on the train as well. And then there's Chloe Decker, who is a first year Gryffindor. And then there is Lucifer Morningstar, a third year Gryffindor. Actually, my brother who is a third year Slytherin and also named Lucifer, says that Lucifer Morningstar is his sworn enemy, but Morningstar claims he has no quarrel with my brother." 

"That is quite the friend group," Ellen says. 

"Cas is a seeker on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team," Dean announces, knowing that Cas was never going to say it unless asked. "He's the first, first year to be on the team since Harry Potter." 

"Really?" Sam asks from his seat, amazed. 

Cas nods shyly. 

"And he's a very good player too," Bobby adds. "Very skilled in the air." 

"Well, I would hope so," Gabe muttered to his plate. 

Cas gave his brother a look. 

Ellen went on to question her boy. "And Dean, find anyone you may some interest in? Some of the best relationships start in first year."

"Well, there is actually someone," Dean says quietly. 

Cas looks up from his fork full of pasta that he was just about to eat.

"Oh?" Ellen encourages him to go on. 

"Yeah, her name's Lisa. Lisa Braedon. She's a Gryffindor. We hung out a couple times but she has a lot of other friends so I don't see her much." 

Something turns in Cas' stomach. He feels his invisible wings ruffle at the thought for Dean with that Lisa Braedon. Cas didn't like her before and now, he just hates her. 

Gabriel kicked Cas under the table. The younger Novak knew that look on his brother's face and he knew it well. Cas sent him a sharp glare. 

\- 

Cas and Dean stood watching from behind as Bobby conjured up a mattress for Cas to sleep on. It was late at night by now. Sam had made everyone watch this muggle movie that was actually pretty good in Cas' opinion. The two boys stood in their pajamas. Cas had his wings out and relaxed. Bobby didn't care, and Bobby's a Professor, so Cas trusts him. 

Bobby stood up straight. "That should do it. Ellen and I will be off to bed. Don't you two bed too loud in the night, you hear me? I don't wanna wake up to laughing or something besides laughing." Bobby looked at them seriously, before changing his expression to a softer one. "Goodnight you two." 

The Hogwarts Professor left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving the two boys alone. 

Cas lay a hand on the mattress, feeling how comfortable it was before sitting down. The two friends had stolen a pillows from one of the guest rooms, as well as a couple blankets. 

Getting comfortable but not yet ready for bed, Dean and Cas started to talk, their voices just above a whisper. The two of them talked for a while, before finally deciding it was time to try and get some sleep. Tomorrow would be a full day of fun and no work, so they had to be prepared. 

~ 

She was running and running fast. Her wand was out and she has a black cloak over her shoulders. Her black, crazy hair whipped in the wind as she ran.

There were multiple bright lights from curses that were flying her way. Each time a curse came, she threw it off with a protection spell. She was rather good at running and using her wand to defend herself. Which was lucky, because if she wasn't, she would be in deep trouble. 

Victoria, or more commonly Vicky, Novak ran as fast as she could. A hand was wrapped around her stomach, protecting the unborn child inside of her. Vicky was a good dueler and was great with her wand. She just didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. 

She was pregnant and tried while running away from some man she didn't even see in the middle of the night. Vicky was due in less than a month, and all she wanted to do was make sure her child was born safely. 

Vicky ran and ran as fast as she could. Her speed was becoming slower, however, as she was loosing stamina as well as breath. 

A spell hit her leg, causing a large gash to appear on her calf. Vicky let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground, hitting the ground hard. 

The next thing she saw was a wand. A wand she knew all too well. Vicky looked up, fearing that she would see the one person she did not want to see. But he was there. He was right there, holding his wand right at her, his grip tight on the base of the wand. 

"P-please don't do it," Vicky begged the man. "Please." 

The man stood there for a moment before lowering his wand and whispering "facti sant cherubi." A bright light erupted from the man's wand. 

Vicky let out a scream. 

~ 

"CAS!" Dean shook his friend's shoulders. 

The Novak's eyes snapped open. Cas was sweating and shaking violently. Hot tears were streaming down his face. His wings were hiding, pressed against Cas' back. Dean gently took Cas' face into his hands, forcing the deva to look at him. Cas' pained eyes looked into Dean's green ones. 

A second later, Cas moved forward and wrapped his arms around Dean's neck. Dean then gently took Cas into a hug. "It's okay, bud. It wasn't real. I'm here.. you're safe," Dean said, doing his best to calm Castiel down. 

Cas slowly calmed down. When he was fully calm, Dean pulled away and made a move to get up off of the mattress. Cas, however, stopped him, whispering the word, "stay." Dean obeyed Cas and lay down. Cas followed his movements and laid down next to Dean. The deva, once again, wrapped his arms around Dean and soon fell back to sleep. 

The next morning, Cas woke up with Dean's arms around him. The deva's face went dark pink as he remembered the events of last night, as well as his nightmare. He had dreamed about his mother, when she (technically Cas himself) got cursed. Dean woke up shortly after Cas and smiled softly at the other. 

Slowly and tiredly, the pair got ready for the day. They changed out of their pajamas into clothes. Cas kept his wings out as the two of them walked downstairs. 

Ellen had pancakes already made and in the oven to be kept heated. She smiled at the boys when they came into the kitchen and got out the pancakes as well as some very well made bacon. 

Sam and Gabriel were both still in Sam's room. So either, they were both still sleeping, or they were talking with each other and unintentionally missing pancakes. When the two younger boys did arrive, they were both still in their pajamas and both had tired looks still on their faces, so they had probably slept in. 

Dean was planing to show Cas around the town when breakfast was finished. In fact, they were just about ready to leave when the doorbell rang. Almost immediately after the doorbell rang throughout the house, Cas' wings disappeared into thin air. 

Bobby was the one who answered the door. "Yes?" He asked, looking at the two men standing there on the steps. 

"Is this where Sam and Dean Winchester live? We are from the Ministry of Magic and would like to question them about a few things," one of the men said. 

Bobby frowned at them before opening the door wider so they could both come in. "Wait here," Bobby instructed the two men. 

The Professor walked into the dining room where Cas, Dean, Sam, Gabe and Ellen all were. "Sam, Dean, two Ministry men are here to see you. I think the rest of you should stay out here," Bobby said. 

Sam stood up, Dean however, grabbed Cas' hand. "Cas comes," Dean said, leaving no room for argument. Bobby only shrugged and showed the Winchesters and Cas to the two men. 

"Which one of you is Sam and which one is Dean?" The second man asked, speaking first. 

"I'm Dean, that's Sam," Dean answered, before Sam could have a chance to speak. 

The man nodded. "Well, I'm Aaron Dolan, and this is Seth Elliot. We've come to ask you a few questions about your mother's untimely death." 

Cas glanced at Dean, a frown on his face. Dean had a similar on his own expression. 

When neither Winchester said anything, Seth asked the first question. "Can you tell me what you remember about that night?" 

Dean started, "I remember running into the hallway from my room and seeing how my little brother's room was lit up. I remember my dad running out of the room and handing me Sammy, telling me to run outside and not look back." 

Sam frowned. "I... I think I remember feeling a lot of heat on my face and hearing all this loud noise. I didn't understand what was going on, I was two and half-asleep, so I don't remember much." 

"Why are you asking us these questions?" Dean asks. "It was just a house fire. Do... do you think it was something else?" 

Aaron hesitated, not sure if he should tell the boys or not. "We do not believe that it was just a house fire. We think that someone may have caused this fire." He took out a picture. "Do either of you recognize this man?" 

Dean and Sam looked over at the picture and both shook their heads. 

However, when Castiel saw the picture, both of his hands grabbed Dean's arm. Dean's head turned sharply towards Cas when he did this. "Cas?" 

Cas pulled Dean to the other side of the room, away from the Ministry men and from Sam. His face was nervous and shocked, like he had just seen a ghost. 

"Dean... last night, in my nightmare. It was my mother running from some man, who was trying to hurt her. Dean, it was that man in the picture." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... yeah. Hope you enjoyed. I honestly didn’t expect to finish this chapter today, but I did and I’m proud! 
> 
> It’s September 1st, so happy gotta get back to Hogwarts day!


	14. The Lake

Cas had a panicked look on his face. It was the man who had chased his mother, there was no questioning it. Cas had never seen this man in his life before last night, so how could he have possibly known that he was suspected for the murder to Dean's mother. 

"The guy you saw in your dream last night, you think he's the same guy as the one in the picture?" Dean asks for confirmation. 

"I don't think," Cas says, "I know. It's the same guy!"

"Okay, I believe you. But do you have any proof other than a dream?" 

Cas doesn't answer. 

Dean nods. "I do believe you, but those Ministry dudes might not. Or if they do, it won't go very far." 

"I know..." Cas looked nervous. 

The Winchester took the other boy's hand. "Hey it's ok. We have two options now. We can tell these guys and they can have another lead, or we keep it to ourselves and try to handle it ourselves. It's up to you." Dean spoke softly to Cas. 

"I think... I think we should tell them," he says after a moment. 

Dean nods. "Alright. Come on, let's go." 

The two boys walked back into the room, Cas holding on to Dean's hand to try and stay stable. The Ministry men and Sam looked up as they walked in. They sat down in their seats and Cas looked over at Dean, silently asking him to explain it. 

"I don't know who that man is. And neither does my friend. However, he does recognize him from... something." Dean looks at Cas. "He doesn't know his name, but Castiel suspects that this man had also cursed his mother. We don't know if it is actually the same man or not, but I think that may help as a lead?" 

Seth and Aaron exchanged a look. 

"Yes," Aaron said after a moment, "that is some helpful information. If there isn't anything else, we should be on our way." 

The room was quiet and no one said anything. 

Aaron nodded and stood up. Seth followed his lead. The two men went over to Bobby and gave the professor some contact information before leaving. 

The three boys sat still, silently thinking about their absent mothers. Gabriel walked in to the room, "I convinced Ellen to make some pie, if you guys want to help." 

Dean and Cas stood up quickly followed by Sam. The three boys followed Sam into the kitchen where Ellen was using magic to set up the pie making. Ellen smiled softly at the boys when they entered understanding what they had just been asked about, while also knowing this would probably cheer them up. 

"Alright, Dean I want you and your brother to start measuring the sugars. You know the measurements already, so you should be good." Ellen started to instruct the boys. "Cas, I want you to get three tablespoons of flour, okay? Gabriel, can you get me a quarter teaspoon of ginger and another quarter teaspoon of cinnamon." 

The kids got to work, following Ellen's instructions and making sure to have the right measurement of ingredients. Before long, the apple infested pie was put into the oven to cook. Ellen had succeeded in distracting her boys. 

Ellen leaned back on the counter as she looked at her boys and their friends. And oh what a group this was. It reminded Ellen of the days when she was young and at Hogwarts. It reminded Ellen of her daughter. Jo would've gotten along with these boys. 

The witch looked out the kitchen window. "I believe it will snow soon. Not much, just a soft coating. Might be fun to play around in." 

"Would the Edleberry Lake be frozen over?" Dean asks.

Ellen nods, "it should be."

Dean went on to explain to Cas that he would take him over to the small Edleburry lake after pie. He didn't explain the lake in detail, but he did say it was quite beautiful. Cas nodded, interested in going. The deva didn't have his wings out, afraid that some feathers may accidentally get into the pie or his wings would just get into the way.

Meanwhile, Sam spoke to Gabriel about showing the Novak some things in his room. Gabriel was all for it. The Novak liked Sam.

Ellen watched as this went on, she was smiling a bit to herself.

Eventually, the timer for the pie went off. The smell of apple pie was in the air and it smelt delicious. The four boys were super excited to eat the pie (Dean most of all, he _loves_ pie). Ellen took the pie out of the oven. With a wave of her wand, Ellen made she that the pie was cool enough to eat before allowing the kids to each take a slice. 

"Just a slice?" Dean asks, jokingly whining. 

"Yes, just a slice. We have to save some for later or you'll probably regret it," Ellen says. 

Dean, still with a joking manner, rolls his eyes. 

The four boys sit down at the table and dig into the apple pie. And it tasted even more delicious than it smelled. There were multiple hums of approval. Far too quickly, the slices of pie had disappeared. Leaving each of the boys' insides feeling a cozy warm. 

Once all the plates were cleaned up and put away, Dean asked Cas if he had any winter coats with him. Cas didn't have any that could really compete with the cold. But he did have his trench-coat! 

Cas, followed by Dean, went upstairs to get his trench-coat. Dean dug through his closets (a familiar place for him) but wouldn't say what he was looking for. After some searching, Dean found what he was looking for. 

The Winchester handed Cas a winter coat. "Here!" Dean says, "it used to be mine and I'm pretty sure it'll fit you." 

Cas smiles at him, "thank you, Dean." Cas puts on the coat over his trench-coat. The two coats didn't exactly go well together but it would keep Castiel warm. To add to the two coats, Cas took out a Hufflepuff scarf and put it on. Dean had a coat of his own as well as a Gryffindor scarf. 

All dressed and ready, the two boys went downstairs and said a quick goodbye to Bobby and Ellen, before walking out the door. The snow hasn't started to fall yet, but it certainly would soon. It was cold out, though the boys stayed warm inside their coats. There was a bit of leftover snow on the ground from the last time it snowed. Dean and Cas walked down the street, being careful not to slip on any ice. They walked in a comfortable silence. 

"Through here," Dean said, making a turn and walking off of the pavement and heading toward some trees. "Be careful through here, the trees can get in the way." 

Castiel follows Dean through the trees, pushing past some branches that were in his way. When they made it out of the trees, Cas almost stopped in his tracks. There in front of them, was a wide river that was completely frozen over by thin ice. The ground was gently layered with old snow that made the frozen lake glisten. 

A few feet away from the water, there sat a small, wooden bench.

"Are you coming or what?" Dean asked, already halfway to the bench. Dean grinned.

Castiel smiled and walked over to Dean. The two of them sat down, admiring the view. They sat like that for a while, occasionally making conversation but mostly staying quiet. Somehow, they didn't get frostbite. 

After a bit, it started to snow just like Ellen had said. The snow fell in small flakes, gently coating the world around the two wizards. They enjoy the scenery, the newer snow making the view even more beautiful.

(The lake)

The two boys enjoy this for a little bit more before Dean gets an idea. With a mischievous look on his face, Dean sneakily reaches down to the snow and grabs a handful. The snow isn't thick enough to make a snowball, so Dean just throws the fistful of snow as is it. 

Snow hits Cas and he lets out a surprised gasp, not at all expecting it. Cas glares at Dean, a smile playing on his lips. 

Dean jumps up, knowing what Cas' next move will be. Just like Dean thought, Cas reached down and grabbed his own bit of snow before chasing Dean and throwing it at him. 

The snow wasn't the easy to throw, but that made it more challenging and fun. 

The boys chased each other around for a while, laughing and trying (and mostly missing) at throwing snow. By the end, both boys were soaking wet and out of breath. 

"Do you think it's time we go back?" Dean asks, looking at Cas 

Cas nods. "Yeah, we should probably go back and warm up some." 

Both shivering from the cold, the two boys walk back to the house to get warmed back up. When they arrive, Ellen calls to them, telling them to leave their coats, scarves, boats and anything else that would track snow in at the door. 

The boys took of their shoes, coats and scarves. Cas also took off his trench-coat, as that had gotten covered in snow as well. 

"Did you two have fun?" Ellen asks when the two boys walk into the kitchen. 

"Yes, ma'am," Cas answers, letting his wings pop out and stretch a bit. He hasn't taken his wings out since the two ministry men arrived. 

"Good. I assume you want some hot chocolate to warm up?" 

Both boys nod. Ellen smiles and quickly makes them two cups of hot chocolate, adding some marshmallows in on top. She hands them to Dean and Cas. The boys sit down at the dining room table and silently enjoy their hot chocolates. 

There's loud laughter coming from the basement which was probably Gabriel and Sam messing around downstairs. No one had any idea what they were doing down there. But they weren't bothering anyone that anyone knew of, so they were fine. 

The hot chocolates were gone pretty quickly. Now both boys were warmed up a bit from the hot drinks. They decided to go upstairs to Dean's room. 

"You wouldn't mind if I take a shower, would you?" Castiel asks, looking over at his mate. 

Dean nodded, "yeah, sure, Cas. Go ahead." Dean smiled at the other boy. 

Cas went off to shower, leaving Dean alone in his room. Dean frowned to himself, looking around his room. The Winchester walks over to a small desk and goes through his stuff, looking for something in particular. 

Eventually, he finds it. Dean pulls out a small pencil case that he had found a while back. Dean sat down on his bed and opened the pencil case, placing it on his lap. Dean took out a few pictures. 

The pictures were old and crinkled, but still in tact. They were moving pictures, too. Dean looked down at a picture of him, Sammy and both of his parents. Just before his mother died. Dean studied his mother's wide smile and the brightness in all of their eyes. They were still a family back then. Oh what had a changed. Dean took his time, looking at each picture and studying it. 

There was a knock on the door that startled Dean. He looked up to see Gabriel, with a lotion bottle in his hand. "Er, is Cassie in here?" He asks Dean. 

Dean shakes his head. "No, he's in the shower right now. What's up?" 

Gabriel walks in. "I was able to buy this last time I was in Diagon Alley. It's a new lotion for wings, I thought Cas would like this." Gabe put the lotion down. 

Dean smiles at Gabe. "I'll make sure he gets it, don't worry. And Gabriel?" Dean makes sure Gabriel is looking at him before continuing. "You're a good kid." 

Gabe nods, not saying anything before leaving the room. 

It's a few more minutes before Castiel comes back into the room, new clean clothes on. His hair is wet and all over the place. By now, Dean had put his pictures and the pencil case away. The Winchester was sitting on his bed. 

"Gabriel came in looking for you. He wanted to give that to you. Said he bought it last time he was in Diagon Alley and said you might like it." 

Cas looked over at the lotion. He smiles softly as he figures out what it is. Cas picks up the lotion and reads the label for some instructions. The deva turned to his mate. “Do you think you can help me with this? I haven’t properly washed my wings for a while.” 

Dean nods. “Of course, Cas.” He smiles. 

The Novak walks over and hands Dean the lotion. “Just a little bit. It says so on the label.” Cas sits down on the floor in front of Dean. 

Dean quickly looks over the instructions before pouring a bit of the lotion onto his hand. Dean’s hands travelled through Cas’ wings. The lotion easily sunk in, making Cas’ wings more fluffy and shiny. 

“I think you should try flying again,” Dean says after a bit. “It’s been a little while and here, you don’t have to worry about getting caught by your father.”

Cas thinks about it. “Maybe I will try flying again.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to make this clear, Dean and Cas are not officially dating. In my opinion, 11 is a bit young to date so everything they do (the hand holding, the comforting after a nightmare, the going off alone together) is all platonic and in a friend way. But don't worry, that will change soon!
> 
> And there will be a continuation of the search for the murderer of Mary Winchester.


	15. The Party

  
Dean woke up next to Cas; the deva's wings wrapped around him. He smiled at Cas' still sleeping form. Cas looked so peaceful and relaxed like that. Cas' eyes blinked open and he noticed Dean looking at him. 

"You get off watching other people sleep?" Cas asks, smiling tiredly up at Dean.

The Winchester chuckles and playfully hits Castiel's arm. Dean gets up off of the blow-up mattress. The two boys had been sleeping on that since Dean's bed wasn't quite big enough to hold the two of them. "Come on," Dean said, "it's Christmas Eve and Bobby invited most of the Hogwarts staff to come over to celebrate." Dean stretched out a hand to Cas and helped pulled the pure-blood onto his feet. 

Cas sighed, he knew that having people over meant he likely had to hide his wings. He had gotten used to having his wings out around the Winchesters. He was able to have them out and not feel like he was secretly being judged, which was a change from the Novak household. 

Not bothering to get out of their pajamas yet, the two boys walked downstairs. Ellen was making some bacon and eggs on the stove while Bobby sat at the table with a cup of coffee in his hands. Ellen really made Bobby happy. They were a cute couple and Bobby would probably be a bit different if she wasn't around each day to keep him sane when he was home from Hogwarts. 

"Hello boys," Ellen greeted without looking over at them. Dean and Cas greeted her and sat down to wait from some breakfast. 

"I told you that a few teachers would be coming over, right?" Bobby asked, directing his question at Castiel.

"Dean mentioned it to me," Cas explains simply. 

Bobby nods. "It's just a few people. Professor Lupin, Professor Kline, Professor Longbottom, Professor Fox, Professor Turner, and the Mills with their twins: Alex and Claire." 

"Actually," Ellen corrected him, "Lupin sent an owl explaining about how he was having a tough time choosing between his family and here. So I said his family could come over too. The Potters and Lupin's son will be joining us as well." 

"Oh. Well, the Potters too then," Bobby said, correcting himself. 

Dean and Cas shared a look. The Potters would be coming over? Harry Potter and his family would be coming over. 

It wasn't long before Sam and Gabriel came racing up the stairs and into the room. They were grinning at each other. "Careful, boys! The oven's on!" Ellen warned them. They ignored her and sat down with their brothers. 

Cas' wings fluttered behind him, his mind traveling to the group of people that would be showing up for the party. He didn't know Professor Longbottom, Kline, Fox and Turner well. And he didn't even know the Potters, so he only had so much time with his wings out left. 

"When is everyone arriving?" Sam asked, looking over at Bobby. 

Bobby looked up from his coffee and over at the young boy. "Well, Lupin should be coming over soon for lunch. The rest should be showing up an hour or so after."

It was nine o'clock in the morning, so there was about three hours until Lupin would show up. 

Ellen looked over at the four boys. "Any of you want to help prepare for the big dinner? Got a roast that needs to be ready by seven."

"We will!" Sam and Gabe said after sharing a look, like they were talking telepathically. 

"Cas and I have to work on our holiday homework together," Dean explains. "The teachers gave us quite a bit." Dean looked over at Bobby as Bobby had given a lot of homework. 

The professor shrugs, "gotta make sure that you idjits are learning." 

Breakfast was finished up, the two younger boys went to help Ellen cook while Dean and Castiel went upstairs to work on assigned schoolwork. 

The two mates worked on their school stuff together in the next few hours. They finished most all of their work, with very few things left undone. It wasn't until the doorbell rang that Dean and Cas took a break. 

They looked at each other, knowing that Professor Lupin had arrived. 

Cas didn't bother hiding his wings, not yet. He trusted the professor, he didn't need to hide from Lupin. He and Dean walked down the stairs to see Bobby opening the door to reveal Lupin standing there. Bobby let Remus in and Lupin thanked him. 

Lupin caught sight of the two boys and smiled at them. "Hello Dean, Cas. I didn't expect you to be here, Mr. Novak?" 

Castiel shrugged. "Better than home," he said, taking Dean's hand. 

The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher smiles at them. Gabriel and Sam race into the room to meet their to-be Hogwarts teacher. Gabe made a look when he noticed Cas still had his wings out around Lupin. 

"Professor, this is my brother Gabriel," Cas introduces his brother to Lupin. 

Gabriel grins at Lupin. Lupin waves. Ellen comes into the room next and invites Lupin to come all the way in. 

Lupin walks into the rest of the home, looking around. It was a annual thing for one of the professors to invite the other teachers over for Christmas, just in case they had no where to go to celebrate. This was the first one at Bobby's house. Bobby usually never came to the teacher parties so it came as a surprise when he invited everyone over. 

"This is a nice home you have here," Lupin compliments, looking over at Bobby and Ellen. The couple thanks him. 

Before long, Lupin is seated at the table with the four boys. Ellen and Bobby bring out a simple lunch and serve it to the boys and the Professor. It's a small meal as dinner will be quite a feast. For the first few minutes after Lupin's arrival, he and Bobby discuss Hogwarts business. That, however, quickly changes. 

"So you know about my brother's secret?" Gabriel asked, finally bringing up the subject that hadn't left his mind. 

Lupin looked over at the young boy. "Yes, I do know about his secret. And I understand how he feels. To be different from others like that, it's certainly not something someone like your brother should have to go through, believe me, I know." 

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at the teacher, not caring that he was testing an adult. "How could you possibly know what he went through? I can't even imagine half of how he feels and I've been around him my whole life." 

"I'm right here-" Castiel tried. Neither Gabriel nor Lupin listened to him. 

"I do know, because I went through a situation much like he did. I may not have wings on my back, but I too was different from everyone my age. I was bitten by a werewolf at a young age. I had to go through my early life believing I was a monster. However, someone quite similar to Dean proved that I am not what I believe," Lupin replied. 

Gabriel was quiet for a few moments. "So you made a friend in school?" He asked, a few seconds later. 

Lupin shook his head, "no. He and I were more than friends. Mates. True mates. He was everything to me." 

~

_"So... you're saying you and Sirius are together? Not that it bothers me, just you are?" A young James Potter sat on his bed, looking over at young Remus and Sirius Black sitting together on Lupin's bed. Peter Pettigrew sat on the bed beside James'._

_"Yeah, you could say that." Remus looked over at Sirius. The two boys had their hands intertwined._

_James grinned. "That's great! So if Evans and I ever get together, we are so going on a double date! Peter, of course, can tag along." James turned to the smaller boy sitting slightly behind him. "You still fancying Vicky Shannon?"_

_"What! N-no!" Peter exclaimed, glaring at the Potter._

_The three other boys laugh._

_"Darn, could've had a triple date," James huffed, earning a snicker from Sirius._

~ 

Lupin smiled to himself, thinking about that memory. 

The two professors, Ellen and the four boys talked with each other for a long while- their conversation having gone on after lunch, but it didn't feel like that long. So it was a slight surprise when the doorbell rang once again. 

Ellen was the one who made it to the door first. She opened the door wide and let Kelly Kline and Asa Fox inside. Kelly, who was only a few years out of Hogwarts herself, had a bag of gifts hung over her arm. She was the youngest professor at the school. Asa was slightly older than Kelly. 

Ellen led the two professors to the living room where the four boys, Bobby and Lupin already were. In the corner of the living room, there was a brightly lit Christmas tree. The tree sat right next to the burning fire place that gave off a nice heat. 

Dean and Cas sat beside each other, hand in hand. Castiel had hidden his wings, not really comfortable showing them off around teachers he didn't know well. Next to Cas, Gabriel sat with his legs crossed. Gabe had an oversized sweater on that he had stolen from Lucifer. Sam sat next to Gabriel and had a cup of hot chocolate in his hands. Bobby and Lupin sat farther down on the couch. There were two couches and three chairs. Everyone was on the first couch (which was rather big) because it was easier to talk instead of sitting from all different corners of the room. 

"Kelly, Asa, this is Dean and Castiel, I don't believe either of you have had them in your classes yet. Then the two youngins are Dean's brother Sam and Cas' brother Gabriel," Lupin introduced the teachers to the four young boys. 

Professor Kline smiled at the four boys, Asa only nodded as a greeting. 

Cas pulled his legs up onto the couch, moving a bit closer to Dean. He was uncomfortable. Not only were his wings in an uncomfortable position, he didn't exactly trust the teachers who had just arrived. Dean glanced over at him with a look of assurance. Cas could get through this he managed to get through years of keeping his wings hidden. 

It wasn't much more time until Professors Longbottom, Turner and the Mills showed up. Jody, Donna, Neville and Kelly had brought gifts for everyone. So had Ellen. So there were plenty of gifts to go around, including the Novaks; which was an honest surprise to Castiel. 

Jody and Donna had brought their twin girls Alex and Claire, who were both four years old. Gabriel and Sam had left pretty early to go play- or as they claimed, hang out- with the younger girls. 

And then only the Potters were the only ones not present. 

The fire was blazing in the fireplace. The fire lit up and warmed the whole room as well as the guests in it. There was chat between the guests. The teachers all talked together and Ellen would occasionally add to the conversations. Cas and Dean sat together at the corner of the couch. The two boys didn't speak much, they mainly listened 

At last, the doorbell rang for a final time. Ellen got up to go open the door. Dean and Cas both watched her go, trying to see if either of them could catch a glimpse of the famous Potter family. Shortly, Ellen came back into the room. A red headed woman with a dark brown haired ,an came into the room after her. Ginny and Harry Potter. Clinging to Ginny’s side was a three year old boy, Albus Severus Potter. Hanging on to Harry’s hand was four year old James Sirius Potter Jr. A third boy came running in. This boy was nine, the same age as Sam and Gabriel. The boy had sky blue hair. He raced over to Professor Lupin and hugged him. Lupin smiled widely and hugged the boy back. This was Teddy Lupin, Professor Lupin’s son. 

Teddy had been living with the Potters, since Lupin couldn’t watch over him and teach Hogwarts lessons at the same time. But Lupin didn’t choose his teachings over Teddy, Lupin believed that Teddy would be more safer with the Potters than himself. 

The Potters were introduced to everyone and everyone was introduced to the Potters. Sam, Gabe and the twins had come upstairs from Sam’s bedroom by now to see what all the fuss was about. 

Less than an hour after the Potters arrived, dinner was set and the Christmas feast begun. There was wizarding holiday music in the background as everyone ate and chatted. 

“Are you and your brother staying with the Singers for the whole break or just part of it?” Ginny Potter asked, aiming her question at Castiel. 

“Gabriel and I are staying here the whole vacation,” Cas answers. 

For a moment, Castiel thought to how his brothers were celebrating the holidays. There were probably watching a couple Christmas movies and trying- and failing- to make muggle sugar cookies without magic. The Novaks were definitely not having a big feast like this. It was likely that the Novak siblings were just spending the holiday break by themselves and not seeing any of their friends. The Novaks didn’t really have any other family. Vicky Novak was an only child and both her parents were dead. Chuck Novak’s family was even worse than Chuck himself. Besides Auntie Amara, but AuntIe Amara was always somewhere else. 

Dinner is finished rather quickly. With just about everything Ellen had prepared, gone. It was getting dark outside and a light layer of snow had started to fall. With dinner over and the kids now hyper, all the kids were told to go outside so the adults could have their adult talking. 

James, Albus, Teddy, Alex, Claire, Gabriel, Sam, Dean and Cas all dressed up for the cold and went outside. Claire, Albus, Sam, Gabriel and Alex all went over and played in the snow. James and Teddy stood to the side, talking. James pictured Teddy like the older sibling he always wanted, so the Potter looked up to him. And James was one of those kids that if he looks up to you, he’s never leaving your side. 

Cas and Dean sat down on the porch and watched as the other children played. Dean leaned over to his mate. “How are you doing?” He asked, referring to Cas and his wing situation. In response, Cas rolled his shoulders. “Uncomfortable but I can make it through. How are you going with all of this? Have you met the Potters before?” 

“I’m doing good, I think. I haven’t met the Potter family before, but Bobby talks a lot about them. So does Ellen,” Dean answers. 

The deva looks up at the sky, blinking a bit whenever a soft snowflake would land on top of one of his eyes. The sky was now dark but the snow was visible and bright. Oh what it would be like to fly up there. 

Dean watched Cas’ face as the Novak looked up at the sky. The Winchester’s eyes softened a bit, seeing Cas’ relaxed expression. Dean reached over and took Cas’ hand, feeling a nice warm th when he wrapped his hand around Cas’. It felt nice. More importantly, it felt right. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the chapter delay. School started up like two weeks ago and I haven’t had much time to finish this chapter. 
> 
> Yes I know this one is short, I have a plan to continue the party into the first half of the next chapter, but I’m not sure. I just needed a filler to get this book back up again. 
> 
> Hopefully I will be posting again soon. Feel free to add comments, it’s always great to hear from readers and know that people are actually reading my book.


	16. The Holiday Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: the following chapter includes a bit of fluff, a bit of angst, some wings, some mentions of the past and, of course, much gayness. Read at your own risk ;)

It was about 45 minutes later that all the kids were brought inside. Each of them were given a hot chocolate to warm up with. It was 9:30 at night and the party was still going. Desserts were brought out and disappeared rather quickly. 

Lupin told Cas about his mother when she was younger. Gabriel and Dean listened in. 

~  
  


//Author’s note: for this section of the book,  **bold** is Lupin narrating,  _ italics _ is what happened from the past\\\

**Victoria Jones was a kind student. A friend to everyone. She was sweet with sparkling blue eyes and black hair, just like you Cas.**

_ Vicky Jones sat on a stool in front of all the students. The sorting hat was placed above her black, curly hair. “RAVENCLAW!” The hat shouted. The Ravenclaw students all clapped at their table. Other first years including Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, clapped along.  _

**She helped anyone she could. Always did things for others before herself.**

_ Vicky sat in the library, helping Peter Pettigrew study and learn the recent charms lesson. “Like this?” Peter asked, in his squeaky voice.  _

_ Vicky leaned forward and checked Peter’s work. “Just like that, perfect.”  _

_ Peter smiled at her.  _

**Vicky was there for anyone who needed it. She could notice if someone was blue from the opposite side of the room. If she noticed, she would walk right over there and ask if you needed to talk.**

_ Remus sat with Victoria under a tree in the Hogwarts grounds. Remus was ranting on and one, with his hands moving about as he described his situation with Sirius and how he was confused about the way he felt for the other Gryffindor. Vicky listened attentively to him.  _

**She was understanding and accepting. She didn’t judge anyone on their appearance.**

_ Vicky helped Remus to figure out what he was going to say and how he was going to ask Sirius out for their first date.  _

**She was there when you needed her. Always.**

_ Vicky sat next to Remus and Sirius at James and Lily’s wedding.  _

**Vicky was there for everyone.**

_ Remus was telling a slightly older Vicky about how Sirius had returned after escaping from Azkaban. He was telling her that Sirius had not, in fact, been the one who killed the Potters, but it was actually Peter. Vicky had a horrified look on her face.  _

**She gave everything her all.**

_ Vicky was helping Remus pick out a ring to give Sirius when he proposed. _

**Vicky was a great person.**

_ The female Novak sat calming a mid-panic attacked Remus. Remus had just lost Sirius, and he hadn’t even gotten to propose yet.  _

**She really was.**

~  
  


Castiel listened to Lupin explain to him about his mother. The deva could see the sad look in his professor's eyes. Cas felt sad himself. Except he felt more angry than sad. The way Lupin explained Vicky Novak, it didn't seem like she would be the type of mother to abandon her child like that. But she did. She left without a word. And to Cas, it was because of him and only because of him. 

Cas wouldn't possibly think that there was a chance his mother was still out there. Everyone thought that Vicky had left home one night and then died on the streets. She wasn't still out there. 

Was she? 

Remus went on to explain a couple of instances where Vicky would be so caring. He even mentioned the one where she was there for him when Sirius died 

That's when Harry Potter interrupts. "You were going to propose to Sirius?" He asked, genuinely shocked about this new information. 

Lupin nods. "I was. I had a ring ready and everything. Actually-" Lupin pulls a ring off his pointer finger; the ring was beautiful with small gems in the shape of a constellation- "this was supposed to be his. I keep it... for a reminder." 

"Wow," Harry breathed out. And the Potter thought loosing his Godfather was bad, try loosing a lover and a to-be fiancé. 

"The Vicky Novak you describe, Professor, doesn't sound like the Vicky Novak I knew when I was born. She left less than a day after. I'm still told that it's my fault she left, but if she's that great of a person, why would she leave?" Castiel asks, his voice weak. 

Lupin shakes his head. "I'm not sure why Vicky left you. But I knew Vicky we'll enough to say that she did not leave because of you." 

Dessert plates were put away and soon everyone had gathered back into the living room. Ellen passed out presents. The kids opening theirs first before the adults opened theirs. 

Cas' favorite gift out of the four he got was probably the book from Lupin. The book he received was a detailed, informative book on devas that was at least four hundred pages long. Though it was likely a boring read, it would certainly help Cas understand how take care of his deva self a bit better. 

One by one, the guests start to leave. Eventually, the house is quiet again. Ellen tells the boys that if they quickly change into their pajamas, they could watch a holiday muggle movie before they would have to go to bed. 

Cas and Dean got their pajamas on rather quickly upstairs and went back down, excited to start the movie. 

Ellen had chose "Nightmare Before Christmas", despite it being a half-Halloween movie. Cas brought his wings back out and settled into the couch next to Dean. Cas sat next to Sam, who sat next to Gabriel. The four boys watched the movie while Ellen and Bobby cleaned up. 

About halfway through the movie, Cas fell asleep on Dean's shoulder. Dean smiled softly over at Cas. Though Dean wouldn't admit it, Cas was really adorable. Even when he was practically drooling on Dean's shoulder. 

When the movie finished Sam and Gabe went downstairs to Sam's room. Dean had to ask Bobby to help him get Castiel upstairs. Bobby used a simple levitation spell to move Cas from on top of Dean to Dean's bedroom. 

Once Cas was gently placed onto the blowup mattress, Bobby left the room. With Bobby gone, Dean carefully got onto the blowup mattress next to Cas. It was weird that Dean had gotten so used to having Cas next to him, that he didn't want to sleep without the deva by his side, even for one night. 

"Merry Christmas, Cas," Dean said softly before laying down and falling easily to sleep. 

\- Time Skip -

"They slept together," a quiet voice whispered. 

"Of course they slept together, it's obvious." 

Dean opened his eyes to see Sam and Gabriel standing over there. Grumbling, Dean reached behind him and pulled his pillow from beneath his head and threw it at his little brother. Sam had to duck his head so he wouldn't get hit. 

The older Winchester brother looked to his side to see Castiel still sleeping peacefully. Dean's head turned and he looked at Sam with a 'don't you dare' look. 

Sam ignored this glare and yelled at the top of his lungs, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!!" 

Cas jolted awake, his wings getting into a defensive position behind him. 

Gabriel and Sam almost died laughing and left the room. 

Together, Dean and Cas forced themselves to get up and ready for the day ahead of them. Cas got a small spike of energy when he realized what day it was, despite Sam having yelled it few moments before. 

Dressed and ready for the day, Castiel and Dean went downstairs. Downstairs, they found Sam and Gabe sitting around a small pile of presents while Bobby and Ellen watched them from across the room. 

"You two open your presents and then we'll have some homemade cinnamon rolls," Ellen says to them when she spots the two boys. 

Almost hesitantly, Dean and Cas make their ways over to their younger brothers. Sam and Gabe have probably already looked over all the gifts and spotted which ones belonged to them and which ones didn't. 

Sam grabbed the first present, it was one of his. He ripped the paper off of the box as everyone else watched him. He opened the box to reveal about five or six books on mythology. Sam was really into that sort of thing. The young Winchester looked over to Ellen, who had gotten the books for him and thanked her. Sammy also got a guide of Hogwarts from Bobby and a nicely framed picture of him and Dean from his brother. 

Dean went next. From Sam, he gotten a small Walkman that he could bring to Hogwarts so he could listen to music there. He thanked his brother and opened his other presents. Dean's second present was a small box. Within the small box was a green bracelet. Dean had seen this bracelet before- Castiel had received it in the mail a few weeks back. Gabriel or one of his other siblings must have gotten it for him so Cas could give it to Dean. The Winchester smiled at Cas with a look of gratitude as he said the bracelet onto his wrist. Cas muttered something about how the bracelet matched Dean's eyes. The final present Dean got was an o je the he could already make out through the wrapping paper. Dean grinned over at Ellen and Bobby as he unwrapped the object to reveal a nice, slick, black broom. A Skysweeper 1967. 

Cas then takes his turn unwrapping presents. The first present he opened was a set of cleaning tools for his broom from Bobby. Ellen had also given him a book on how to protect oneself. Gabriel had gotten him a chocolate bar. The last present Cas opened turned out to be a simple yet beautiful necklace. The necklace had one charm on it. A single, inch long feather. This present was from Dean. Cas thanked him for the necklace and put it on. 

Gabriel got candy. 

With the presents all done, Ellen went to get the warmed up, homemade cinnamon rolls for the four boys as well as herself and Bobby. Once everyone was sat at the table, discussion for what the day would bring started. 

Ellen has planned a festive late lunch at 2:00, and there would be left over desserts for after dinner. But that was really it. Ellen did also mention that she and Bobby would be leaving to go visit Ellen's deceased daughter, Jo's grave sometime within the next week. 

Once the sad mood lifted, Cas turned to Dean with a serious look on his face. "I want to fly," Cas says. "I want you to help me to fly." 

"Okay, Cas. I can help you to fly. Do you want to try it today or...?" Dean asked this in a rather soft voice. 

"Today," Cas replies almost immediately. 

The Winchester nods. "After breakfast?" 

Cas shrugs a bit. "Whenever," he says quietly. 

And so, an hour or two later, Cas and Dean were in the backyard. The backyard was surrounded by walls of tall bushes, so it wasn't likely that Cas would be seen. 

The deva's wings were out, his trench-coat, winter coat and his scarf were all wrapped around him as well. Dean had his own winter clothes on. There was still snow on the ground and the temperature was below freezing. But they went out anyway. If Cas wanted to fly, Dean would help him to fly, no matter the weather. 

Sam and Gabriel were out at the lake while Bobby and Ellen were inside. 

"Just do whatever feels right," Dean tries to provide some help, but as he doesn't have wings of his own, he doesn't have the personal experience nor knowledge to help. 

Cas inhales deeply, breathing in the frosty air. His exhale brought a visible cloud of breath. Cas watched the breath disappear before stretching his wings out behind him. His wings extended to their full length. His original set of wings had grown about half an inch since his switch, but his second pair was still about the same length. 

The Novak flapped his wings once. He didn't move off the ground. Cas frowned a bit. 

"I think you have to keep flapping," Dean commented. 

Cas sent him a 'no shit Sherlock' glare, causing Dean to chuckle in response. 

After another second, Cas tried again, this time flapping his wings in a steady beat. Cas could feel the air beneath his wings. He still wasn't in the air, but he feel that he was getting closer and closer. 

He tried again. More confident this time around, Castiel's wings flapped with more power. All four wings moved at the same time. Dean watched in awe as Cas managed to push himself off the ground about three inches. Winchester had to admit that Cas looked pretty angelic up in the air. It looked like Cas belonged in the air, not on Earth. 

Cas' feet hit the ground lightly as Cas landed. The deva grinned widely at Dean. Dean beamed back at him with an identical grin. 

Novak spent the next few minutes showing off to Dean. He was constantly flying up and then coming back down. Each time, he got higher and higher as his confidence grew. Dean watched him with amazed eyes. 

From inside the house, Ellen and Bobby watched them through a window. "They've got a big future planned for them, don't they?" Ellen asked, looking over at her husband. 

Bobby nodded, "a big, wild future," he agreed. 

Things were going great back outside. Castiel had started to move around up in the air. It took him a few tries, but he figured out how to direct himself with his wings. Before long, Cas was racing around the perimeter of the yard, Dean following his every move. 

Dean was just about to go grab his new broom so he could join his friend up in the air, when Cas suddenly lost control for no apparent reason. Cas came tumbling down from about five meters in the air. And landed right on his right wings. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. Sorry for the late update. I promise I haven’t given up on this book. I hope I don’t but things have been pretty crazy, so it is a small possibility. But I doubt it. 
> 
> Please comment, share, and give kudos if you haven’t.   
> Receiving comments is probably one of the best things about writing, you actually know that people are reading your work! It’s crazy!


	17. The Scars

//Trigger warning: mention of past abuse near the end of the chapter\\\

"Oh come on, Vicky."

"I said it before, and I'll say it again, Azazel, the answer is no."

"It's just one date. Wouldn't you rather me than that Novak boy?"

"I would rather be with anyone than with you. I don't hang out with monsters."

A laugh. 

"I'm not a monster, sweetheart."

"Yeah, you're not. You're more of a demon from the gates of hell."

~

//MORE GARTH\\\ 

"Cas!" Dean yelled, racing over to his friend. 

Bobby and Ellen came running out from inside of the house. The couple ran over to Dean, who was kneeling beside Cas. Castiel was writhing in pain. His wing had been bent at a bad angle. 

Cas was on the ground, doing his best to keep his growing amount of tears from falling. 

"Step back, I know a healing charm," Ellen says. 

Dean and Bobby stepped back from Cas. Bobby had to pull Dean back because the Winchester refused to leave his friend's side. 

"Cura ipsum!" Ellen cast her charm, her wand pointing at Cas' injured wing. 

Cas let out a pained yelp. Ellen's spell had made it worse. Much worse. That's when everyone began to panic. If Cas' wings didn't heal like a human set of bones would, how the hell were they supposed to heal them? No one knew what they were doing or how to heal a deva's wings. 

"Should we take him to the wizarding hospital?" Dean asks, knowing that the muggles working at a muggle hospital would flip if they saw a human with actual wings coming in. 

"No," Bobby responds. "We'll get your Professor Fitzgerald over here. If anyone would know how to help Novak, it's him." Bobby raised his wand. A Rottweiler patronus appeared. "Garth- we have Castiel Novak here, injured one of his wings. Could use the help." Bobby gave his patronus a message and the white, shining ghost of a dog disappeared. 

With Garth supposedly on the way, Bobby and Ellen helped Dean get Cas inside. They sat Cas down on a stool. Dean had taken Cas' hand by now and was trying to soothe his friend's pain. 

It wasn't long before Garth apparated into the Singer-Winchester house hold. Bobby let him in and showed him to where Castiel was sat. Everyone stood around Cas, worried looks on each other their faces. Cas looked uncomfortable about that, but he didn't say anything. 

Garth walked over. "First, kiddos, I need you all to take a step back." His eyes landed on Dean and his intertwined hand with Cas'. "Except you, you can stay." Dean nods and stays by Cas' side while everyone else moves back to give them space. 

The Hogwarts Professor moves around Cas to examine his wings. "I'm guessing someone tried to heal his wing?" Garth asks, looking around at everyone to find the culprit. Everyone turned to Ellen. 

"I did. I assume this was bad?" Ellen looks to Garth, suddenly get nervous she made everything much worse. 

"Yes. But not terribly. It should be an easy fix." Garth pauses. "Dean, I think I'm going to have to teach you and Cas how the deva healing process works." 

Garth has Dean move so they are both looking at Cas' back and his wings. Garth motioned for Dean to follow his movements. "So I want you to put your hands like this," Garth instructed Dean. To demonstrate what he meant, Garth stepped back and out stretched his arms so he was an arm's length away from Cas' injured wing. 

Dean copied Garth's movements, standing about the same distance away from Cas. 

"Good," Garth compliments. "Now, comes the tricky part. This is the part that I can't show you how to do." The professor pauses to make sure that Dean is ready for what he's about to say. "When you start off, it may be hard. But once you get a hang of it, you'll be great at it." 

"I need you to focus, Dean. Focus on the connection you have between yourself and Cas. Not just the friendship, the profound bond. Focus on that bond and do your best to make the feeling stronger. As strong as you can make it." 

Cas sat still, gripping the side of the chair he was sitting on and waiting for his wing to be healed. He should never have tried to fly again. He knew something like this was going to happen, yet he did it anyway. Cas went up there and he grew confident and cocky, only to let that make a fool out of himself. And he didn't feel like flying again for a long time. So now he was sitting on a chair, silently waiting for Dean to figure out whatever Garth was trying to teach him. 

\- 

Sam and Gabriel were currently elsewhere. They were having a good ole time at the lake. The lake was mostly frozen over, but there were some parts of the water that had melted. The ice that was still there was thin. 

Gabriel had some of his candy with him and was sharing with Sam. They sat in a comfortable silence. The two of them had become good friends in the time Gabriel was visiting with his brother. Gabe was glad to know someone like Sam who would be going to school with him. Sure, there were times when his older brothers would bring their friends over and their friends had younger siblings his age. But Gabriel never really liked any of them. They were all bitchy. So it was nice to have Sam as a friend. 

With their father's behavior to Cas, Michael didn't usually allow the Novaks to have their friends over. Even now when Chuck was sort of better, Michael would tell his siblings to try and keep their friends outside. So there were few times that Gabriel got to actually socialize.

Plus, Chuck wouldn't pay for the Novak siblings to go to any nearby muggle schools, so Michael took it upon himself to homeschool himself and his siblings. When Michael went to Hogwarts, Cas and Luci took over the teaching and now it was Gabriel's turn to teach Balthazar and Anna since Cas and Lucifer were both gone.

Each of the Novak children learned how to take care of themselves since Chuck was never there. Chuck was always passed out or quite drunk in his bedroom. Of course the other boys did their best to make sure that Anna, Balthazar and Gabriel were never left to fend for themselves until they were ready. 

And then there was Gabriel, Anna and Balthazar's mother, and the other boys' step-mom. Her name's Jewell and she's just as bad as Chuck. Jewell Novak was almost never around. When she was around, she never talked to her children. Instead, she would just go up to Chuck's room and drink herself drunk with him and then leave early the next morning. 

So the Novak kids were left to themselves. And that's mostly how they like it. 

To Gabriel, Sam was like his first real friend, which is probably the best thing Gabe has ever felt. Sam felt a similar way about Gabriel. Of course Sam had gotten the chance to make friends during his childhood and had a bunch of muggle friends around the town. Gabriel just seemed different to Sam from all of his other friends. 

Sam looks over at Gabriel, suddenly getting an idea. "Hey, I want to show you something," he says, a large smile spreading across his face. 

Gabriel raised an eyebrow over at Sam. "Oh, yeah? Is it a good thing or are you going to prank the Trickster?" 

"You'll just have to wait and see," Sam replies with a smirk. 

The Winchester stands up and motions for Gabriel to follow him. Slightly amused but also curious about where Sam was leading him to. Sam brought Gabriel into town. This town was full of muggles and a young lesbian wizarding couple. The town Ackles was a nice small place. 

Sam led Gabriel through Ackles Town Square to a large, old building at the corner of Padalecki Road and Sheppard Street. The building had a sign on it. This building was a library. Sam looked super excited. Gabriel hadn't known what to expect, but this was not even an idea that popped into his head. But seeing Sam so happy about this building, made Gabriel happy. 

"Come on, this is only part of it," Sam says, dragging Gabriel inside. 

Inside of the library, thousands of old books were out for borrowing. Gabriel looked around at the grand showing. There were so many books and all the decorations around the room looked expensively beautiful. Some of the books were in newer shape, while others were much ancient. 

Sam slowly took Gabriel to the back. The slow pace was to allow Gabe look around at all the books and decor. Eventually they reached the back. Sam turned and Gabriel followed him, now more curious than ever as to what Sammy would be showing him. 

A small desk sat in the back. At the desk, was a twenty-something year old woman. She had dark brown, long, straight hair. Her eyes were kind when she looked up at the two approaching boys. "Hello, Sam," she greets him. "Who's this?" 

Sam greets her back, "hi, Vanya. This is my friend, Gabriel. His brother goes to Hogwarts with Dean. Gabe, this is Vanya. She works here with her girlfriend Sissy. They're both witches." Sam introduces Gabriel to Vanya. 

Gabriel nods a greeting, smiling a bit at Vanya. 

"Can we see it?" Sam asks Vanya after looking around to make sure no one else was near enough to hear their conversation. 

Vanya smiles and stands up. "Of course. Right this way." She leads Sam and Gabriel to the farthest wall from the entrance. Five feet high bookcases block out most of what they're doing. 

After checking to make sure no one could see, Vanya took out her wand and tapped the wall four times. "Just like platform 9 3/4, go right through. I'll follow after you two," she instructs them, more for Gabriel's sake than Sam's. 

Sam motions for Gabriel to go first. Hesitating, Gabriel looks at both Sam and Vanya before stepping forward towards the wall. Gabe steps through the wall, almost surprised that he stepped into another room. Gabriel looked around the room he had just entered. There was another woman inside. She was blonde and playing with a small boy who was about Balthazar's age. 

Vanya and Sam stepped inside after Gabriel. Sam smiled at Gabe's reaction as Vanya makes her way over to Sissy, her girlfriend, and Sissy's kid Harlan. 

"Is this like a magic-only library or something?" Gabriel asks, looking back over at Sam and then Vanya and Sissy.

Sam answered, "it's a section based off of a library in the greatest place ever, the Men of Letters Bunker! The Bunker has so many books from all over. It has books dating back to Camelot. It's the biggest collection of old books and the biggest collection knowledge there is in the wizarding world! But the Bunker was lost a long time ago, so Vanya and Sissy put this replica up. Of course the books aren't at all the same as the ones in the MOL library, but it's the same design and can only be accessed by those who possess magic." 

"The Men of Letters, huh?" Gabriel says. 

Harlan walks over to Gabriel, eyeing the bag of candy Gabriel had brought with him. Gabriel laughs quietly at him and holds up the bag. "Do you want some?" Gabe looks over to Vanya and Sissy, "if that's okay? It's not cursed or anything, just regular muggle candy." 

Sissy nods, "go ahead." 

Gabriel smiles down at Harlan and starts to go through his candy, letting the younger boy pick out two pieces. Harlan wobbles back to his mother and plops one of the candies into his mouth. 

"This place is great, Samsquatch. I've never been much of a library person but this is cool," Gabe says, looking at his friend. 

-

Garth was still leading Dean through how to heal Cas. Dean was struggling a bit and Cas was trying to keep still as the pain and aching of his wing started to get to him. Ellen and Bobby stood behind them, both with a worried look on their faces. 

"If that wing isn't fixed in ten minutes, we're taking him to the hospital," Bobby says to Garth. 

"Spiritual things like this takes time. Plus Deano is doing this for the first time. Can't exactly rush it," Garth replies. 

Dean takes a breath. He needed to fix Cas' wing so his friend wouldn't be in more pain. Dean couldn't mess up, he had to get this right. And then Dean feels it. The force connecting himself and Castiel. The pull is strong and Dean can tell this is what he was searching for. 

The Winchester concentrated on the force, doing his best to make it as strong as he could. Dean could see Cas getting visibly uncomfortable as the force strengthened itself. Garth stepped back so he was with Ellen and Bobby. The trio of adults watched as Castiel's wing shifted it's position. Dean was doing it. 

It took about three minutes until Cas' wing was fully healed. When it was done, Cas turned to Dean. Both boys has the same look on their face. It was a look that crossed between confusion and awe. 

"You felt that too?" Castiel asks quietly. 

Dean nods, "yeah, I felt that." 

Cas smiles, "our profound bond." 

"Is your wing feeling better now, Cas?" Garth asks the young boy. 

"Yes, much. Thank you." 

The front door opens and Gabriel and Sam walk it. "What did we miss?" 

\- 

Cas and Dean sat in Dean's room. They sat on the mattress together. Cas' Back was turned to Dean and the Winchester was cleaning his wings when a small frown forms on Dean's lips as he notices something he probably should have noticed before. 

Dean lightly traced a scar on Cas' wing. That scar led Dean to other scars. Slowly, Dean discovered more and more of Castiel's scars. Cas was tense. He knew that Dean had spotted the marks on his two bigger wings. 

"Cas... what are these? There's two many for them to all be birthmarks, so don't even try using that lie." Dean has a serious tone in his voice. 

The deva doesn't respond. He doesn't know how to. 

Dean speaks again. "Cas. What did this to you?" 

"I did," Cas replies in a voice somehow quieter than a whisper. 

"You... you did this to yourself?" 

Cas fidgets with the sleeves of his shirt. "Some of them.." 

"And the others?" Dean's voice is sharp. 

"My father..."

"Does he still- is he still doing it?" Dean asks, his voice and tone quieting down to a more worried voice. 

Cas shakes his head. "N-not anymore." 

There's a moment of silence before Dean moves so he's in front of Castiel and hugs him. "I'm sorry." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I did the Vanya/Sissy thing.


	18. The New Pair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhh... filler chapter.

"Thank you for hosting a great holiday break," Cas says to Bobby and Ellen with a smile.

He, Bobby, Ellen, Sam, Dean and Gabriel were now back at King's Cross Station, ready to get back onto the train to go to school.

"No problem, kid," Bobby says, patting the boy's shoulder while being careful to not disrupt the two pairs of hidden wings.

Dean pulled his brother into a hug. Sam hugged him back. "I'll be back soon, Sammy," Dean says to him quietly.

Gabriel looks at Cas and opens his arms wide with a snarky grin on his face. Gabriel was jokingly mocking Sam and Dean. Cas shakes his head a bit and ruffles Gabriel's hair.

"Bye, Gabe. Take care of our siblings, okay?" Cas says. Gabriel nods, "yeah yeah, I know. Have fun, Cassie."

The elder Winchester and Novak give a final farewell to their families before turning together and going towards the Hogwarts express. The train is already crowded with students and teachers trying to find a compartment to sit in.

It doesn't take long for Dean and Cas to find their friends. Charlie, Meg and Mazikeen all sat in one compartment. The two first years join them inside. Charlie was already talking about her vacation and caught the two boys up to speed on what she had already told Maze and Meg.

Cas kept his wings uncomfortably tight to his back under the trenchcoat that he was still wearing. He hadn't yet changed into his school uniform, the train ride had just begun.

The almost day long ride on the train finally came to an end as the Hogwarts Express reached it's destination. Students were back in their school uniforms. The group of five made their way out of the train's exit with all the other students. Cas stayed close to Dean, not wanting to loose his mate in the crowd.

The welcome back feast felt shorter than usual but wasn't short of perfection when it came to the presentation and taste of the meal. Loud chatter filled the Great Hall as the students and teachers all enjoyed their first meal back at Hogwarts.

The next few months passed seemingly quickly. Hufflepuff won a few more Qudditch games. Classes got a bit more difficult and to make things a bit worse, Dean was starting to hang out with Lisa Braedon more.

Currently Cas sat outside. It was now early spring and the weather was beginning to feel warm again. The final games of Quidditch were coming up soon and Hufflepuff was going to be going up against Gryffindor. Ravenclaw and Slytherin would be competing, whoever won that game would face whoever wins the Hufflepuff/Gryffindor game.

Dean and Lisa were talking some feet away from the deva and Castiel was watching the way Dean seemed so happy with Lisa.

"Yanno, he has that same look in his eye when he's with you."

Cas turns to see Charlie walking over to him. Charlie sits down next to her friend. Cas looks back at Dean. "Do you think he..."

Charlie knows what Cas is hinting at. "I think he does. Hell, I hope he does. You two would be cute together."

The deva smiles a bit at Charlie's words.

Charlie stands up. "C'mon, you've got a Quidditch match you need to practice for." She extends her hand and Cas takes it and stands up with her help. The pair of friends journey away from the front of the castle over to the Quidditch field. There, Castiel gets out his Quidditch outfit and his broom.

Cas goes out to the field and takes his broom, flying up into the sky. Charlie watches him as he does this. There was no one else on the field so it was just the two of them. Charlie would throw small golf balls into the air for Cas to chase after. He didn't miss a single one.

They practiced on and off for the next hour or so before Cas flew down to the ground and landed. Cas took his broom into his hand and walks over to Charlie. Charlie is grinning at him. Cas smiles a bit back.

"You, my friend, are a great damn flier."

Cas grins. The smile soon fades from his face. "I, uh, it's kind of natural for me to be flying."

"Well it was witches and wizards who came up with flying broomsticks," Charlie says, giving an understanding nod without really knowing what Cas was talking about.

The Novak shakes his head. Cas looks around. There's no one around. Cas lets his wings phase through his clothes. "I mean it's literally natural for me to be flying."

Charlie is silent for a moment. "You... were born like this?" She asks softly.

There's a nod from Cas. The deva looks down at the ground. Charlie takes his hand, making him look up at her. Charlie looks at Castiel for a moment before bringing him in for a hug, carful to not bump into his wings only being cautious in case his wings were super sensitive to touch.

With Charlie now knowing about his secret, Cas felt a bit better in Dean's absence.

Eventually, the day of the game came. It was Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. Cas was, honestly, worried for this game. Dean was there outside the Hufflepuff changing room- Lisa by his side- to wish him luck before his game.

"You're going to do great," Dean assured Cas, sensing the deva's worry.

"Hope so," Cas says.

Dean smiles. The Winchesters pats the winged Wizard's shoulder before walking off with Lisa to go to the stands.

Cas takes a breath and goes back into the changing room. Dan personally wishes Cas good luck before briefly giving the Hufflepuff team a pep talk to get the team ready for the game.

The Hufflepuffs are called out to the field. As one, they walk out and join the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Donna stands in the center of the field, one of the Quidditch balls tucked under her arm.

"I want this to be a fair and clean game," Donna says, sending a warning look to each team. The professor then throws the ball into the air and unhooks the other balls.

Cas, along with the other Hufflepuff team members, kicked off the ground and flew up into the ground. Gryffindor got the first couple of points, putting them into the lead.

The game ended up lasting less than an hour. It ended with Castiel managing to grasp the snitch in his hand before the Gryffindor seeker was able to.

Celebration for the Huffmepuffs started immediately after the game finished. They had a chance to win the house Quidditch cup! It was a night full of drinks and foods from the kitchen. It was the first time Castiel stayed late up in the Hufflepuff common room. Somewhere after midnight, Cas left the common room and went to meet up with Dean. Only to find Dean wasn't there. Frowning, Castiel went into the hidden room and curled up on the cushion, wrapping his wings around him as he fell asleep alone.

At breakfast the next day, Dean apologized to Castiel about not being there, saying he had been distracted by Lisa and forgot. This hurt Cas but he didn't show it on his face.

A two weeks of classes passed. The Ravenclaws won the game against Slytherin so the final match of the year would be Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw. Castiel spent hours preparing for the match. He took out some of his upset emotions by flying around on his broom.

When game day arrived, the entire school was excited to see who would win. The sixth year Ravenclaw seeker or the first year Hufflepuff seeker with a strangely strong talent for flying.

The few hours before the game, Cas was nervous and seemed out of it with anxiety. He got an awkward good luck from Dean before the game started.

Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin students were all cheering in the stands and watching attentively as the game begun. Colors of the two competing houses were all over. The Ravenclaw team played well and was a challenge for the Hufflepuffs, but the yellow-themed team did their best to stay strong.

About three hours in, Castiel caught sight of Dean sitting in the stands with Lisa at his side. This distracted him from the game for a moment. Apparently it was a moment too long because below him, the crowd erupted. Castiel looked up to see the Ravenclaw seeker holding the snitch up high.

Castiel felt his stomach drop. He had lost. Worse, he had let down his whole house. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw team flew down to the ground.

Most of the Hufflepuffs were upset that they hadn't won the game, but all of them were understanding and knew no one was perfect.

The year was almost coming to an end, but there was still one thing that needed dealing with. There were still the end of the year exams to do. Castiel was not at all excited for this. No one was. Even Charlie looked tired from all the studying, and that was saying a lot.

Exams took up the next two weeks. There was only three weeks left in the school year before all the students and teachers would be returning to their homes.

First year exams were difficult to do. The students all did their exams. There was a collaborative sigh once the exams were finished.

The final week of school came sooner than Castiel thought it would.

The deva looked back on his first year at Hogwarts and sighed to himself. What a year it had been. And he knew that he had a bunch of adventures still yet to be experienced while at Hogwarts.

When the last day arrived, Castiel went around and thanked his teachers. Some he talked with, Lupin in particular. Lupin asked if he would be okay over the summer break. Castiel would nod in response and told the professor that his father wasn't as bad as he used to be.

Eventually, it was time to get onto the Hogwarts Express. Bags were all packed and the students were back in their causal muggle-world clothes. Dean, Castiel, Meg, Charlie and Maze all packed into one train apartment. The train ride back to King's Crossed seemed to go by quicker than when they first came to Hogwarts.

Castiel thought to when he first stepped onto the Hogwarts Express. He had been quiet and worried for the year. He didn't know anyone in his year either. Now, here he is. A bit more confident with himself, had a good experience at school and now had a nice group of friends. For the first time, life seemed to be good. So maybe this summer wouldn't be that bad.

Right?


	19. AWH Year 2-3 Preview

When the Hogwarts Express arrived at King's Cross, the Novak siblings were all there waiting for their older brothers to come back.

Castiel, Michael and Lucifer all met up with their siblings. Cas waved farewell to his friends before turning to his family and giving a small smile. Anna wrapped her arms around Cas' waist in a childish greeting. "Did you have fun?" Anna asks in her small voice.

"Yes, I did," Castiel answers, smiling down at her. Anna, in returns, grins, glad her older brother had fun at school.

Michael ruffled Castiel's hair and the eldest brother led the rest of his family out of King's Cross.

It didn't take long for the Novaks to arrive back at their home. Chuck was the only other one home when they arrived. For the first time, Castiel felt no worry walking back through the doors of his house knowing Chuck was there.

The three older brothers brought their stuff up to their rooms and dropped off their luggage. Then the Novak siblings all gathered for their first meal together in a long time.

Just as Michael prepared the meal, Chuck called in to them. There was the familiar smell of alcohol around the house. "Castiel, boy, come here," Chuck orders from the living room.

A bit confused, Castiel walked over to his father. "Yes?" He asks as he enters the room.

The next thing Castiel knew was he felt a painful sting on his face. He had felt this pain many times before. But Cas had thought he had gotten away from receiving it from his father. Cas thought the abuse was over. Apparently not.

From the kitchen, the Novak siblings all froze. They had heard that sound before. Much like Castiel, they thought they wouldn't have to hear that terrible sound again.

Over on a table, out of sight and unnoticed, an envelope with an unread letter was there. It was addressed to Chuck. In the return address spot on the letter where muggles would put their home address, there was just a name, one simple name.

Vicky Novak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this through! Hope you liked it! I know the ending was rushed, the story is plotted over the seven years at Hogwarts so we aren’t done yet. 
> 
> Stay tuned for Angel Within Hogwarts (Year 2-3)!!


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